Stories Like This Can't Come True
by Phantomstar07
Summary: Four girls explore a basement and find Christine's dressingroom mirror on the wall. They find Erik, and a host of crazy happenings ensues. This one's as finished as it's gonna get, I'm afraid. Apologies to anyone who willed it differently.
1. Christmas Presents

**Stories Like This Can't Come True**

**Disclaimer:** _I own the plotline and four main characters (not Erik) in this story. That is all._

**_This story is told from the POVs of each character (Kayla, Josie, Kendall, or Samantha); usually they take the chapters in turns, but sometimes the overseeing authoress (moi) must intercede on the reader's behalf. Please attempt to enjoy. PS: Anything in double parentheses is from the chapter narrator's POV._**

**Kayla**

**Chapter 1 – Christmas Presents**

"Okay, has _everybody_ tuned?" I asked for what felt like the millionth time.

"Yes," Sam stressed the word. "We're set… Finally."

I rolled my eyes at her. "Okay, fine. How about 'Angel of Music' for a warm-up?"

"Ooh, ooh, can I do the intro?" Kendall bounced up and down, and we laughed.

"Well, it doesn't sound right on keyboard," I admitted, stroking the keys. "And I get the feeling a cello would be too low…" (Sam gave me a dirty look.)

"Josie, do you want to do it?" I glanced at my other best friend.

Josie shook her head. "I haven't practiced it anyway."

"Yea! Thank you guys!" Kendall punched the air and snatched her violin.

"I can still do the harp accompaniment," I smirked at her as I flipped a few switches on the keyboard. Josie picked up her own violin. "Remember, it's only four measures of intro. Don't get carried away, you guys." She gave me a pointed look. (I sometimes lose myself in this music… Okay, all the time, but can you blame me?)

Sam's bow was set on her cello, and she tapped a beat with her foot. "Go, guys."

Kendall started and I followed. It sounded beautiful, like on the soundtrack. ((Okay, maybe not immaculate, but it sounded really good.)) I nodded for Josie and Sam to come in out of personal habit, and we got through the whole song without a bad note.

"That was awesome, you guys," I said when we'd finished.

"Yeah, really good intro," said Sam.

Josie tightened her bow slightly. "It looks like everyone's been practicing since Christmas. I still can't believe you got us all Phantom of the Opera music, Kayla," she said, half-exasperated.

I gave her a wicked grin. "How else was I supposed to get you three into this?"

She didn't answer, turning back to her music. "Now let's do 'All I Ask of You'," she said, skimming through the pages.

"Nooo!" I howled. "Fop-song alert! Must… stay… away!"

"Oh, shut up. Just 'cause I think he's hot and you don't –

"Good reason, too!" I shot back. "Okay, on the one hand, you have the Phantom, a.k.a. Gerard Butler: nice slicked hair, black cape, deep voice, AWESOME SINGER, and swooning-sexy with his mask. On the other, Raoul, no mystery whatsoever, okay singer, and has to wear his hair in a ponytail to look even remotely cute."

"Stop right there. You can nix the hair and mask, plus I've got to remind you that your guy is like, thirty-something and seducing a seventeen-year-old girl. And he's a coward," Josie argued.

"How dare you!" I cried. "I am mortally offended. The Phantom bests Raoul when it comes to a swordfight, and he's got the lasso!"

"Only proves he's a coward," she said, "Attacking from the shadows like that."

"Don't be surprised if you wake up dead tomorrow," I muttered.

"What?"

"I said, 'Fine, let's do it'," I lied. "It's not like you're going to stop griping until we play it anyway…"

We ran through 'All I Ask of You' as fast as I could make us go, then went on to 'Music of the Night' and 'Phantom of the Opera' ((oooh, good song…)).

"That was cool," Sam commented, glancing at me. "Kayla, what did you have the keyboard set on for 'Music of the Night'?"

"That was a lovely string and piano layer combination that I found one day while perusing the columns of instruments inscribed upon this un-vintage piece of work."

She stared at me. "Yeah… well, it ruled."

"Thank you much. Okay, major break time."

"Agreed." Kendall had brought down some drinks.

"Okay, I vote we go exploring," I raised a hand in the air.

"Exploring for what?" Kendall gave me a blank look. "It's my basement. It's got a bunch of junk that I've never seen –

"That's exactly why!" I clapped my hands like a six-year-old. "Let's check it out!"

**Ok, I confess: I was on a sugar high when I started writing this, and my best friends convinced me to post it (no clue why). So it'll pick up a little next chapter, hope you enjoy!**


	2. Exploring

**Disclaimer: **_I own Kendall, Sam, Josie and Kayla. And the storyline. Not PotO. So there._

**Review Replies: **

**Shadow-Sun: I know how that is, lol. Here you go, although it will take awhile for us to actually get down there.**

**Enchantment3000: Enjoy! **

**Josie**

**Ch. 2 – Exploring**

We went through boxes of stuff, not disturbing things that belonged to Kendall's parents, but finding interesting items all the time. There were old records ((for those of you who don't know what a record is, my explanation: a large vinyl CD)), boxes of clothes, and some stuffed animals. Kendie's kitten, Angel, joined us and provided many laughs pouncing on mothballs and other small objects. She liked attacking the legs of our jeans and pawing at dust bunnies.

"Sam, where are you?" I called. She had disappeared somewhere amid the mess of boxes. ((Did I say mess? I meant piles.))

"Back here," I heard her say.

"Where exactly?" I needed definite locations down here.

"Along the back wall."

I rolled my eyes. Descriptive, she isn't. I waded among the piles and found a stretch of blank wall.

"Whatcha find? Anything cool?" I asked, coming slowly toward her.

"You decide." She gestured at the wall in front of her, just as Kendall and Kayla fought their way over to us.

A full-length mirror ran from floor to ceiling. Trimmed with gold, it was a bit dusty, but that was easily fixed. Kayla grabbed a rag and hurriedly wiped it down. The glass seemed to sparkle.

"Wow, it's pretty." (Kayla.) "Hey, it's almost like… Do you think _we_ could actually –?"

"No way, Kayla. No flippin' way." (Me.)

"Why not? We could at least try it, see if it moves at all."

"What are you talking about anyway?" Sam interrupted us.

I gave her a pitying look. "You've got to read Leroux's novel."

I expected her to roll her eyes at me, but they widened eagerly. ((She has, after all, seen the movie.)) Even more surprising, she echoed Kayla: "Yeah, why not?"

I looked at them as if they were retarded. "Hel-_lo_! First of all, school, second, homework, and third, how would we get back?"

Kayla stared back at me. "Answers: screw school, equals no homework, and the mirror. Duh."

I gave her a _very_ dirty look indeed.

"Well," Kendall interjected, "We've got to work and everything too, though…"

Sam spoke up first. "Couldn't we go through to check it out, then come right back? That is," she eyed the glass, "if it even opens at all."

"I still say it's just an old mirror my parents put up," said Kendall, fingering the edge. "Kayla, don't you think this is going a bit far? I mean, you've been on this Phantom kick since Mother's Day of _last_ year."

"Oh, give me a break. Gerard Butler is the hottest guy to wear a mask since the '90s and Zorro," she said. "Come tothink of it,since now and Zorro. Anyway, I'm gonna stay here till you let me check it out."

"Fine," I sighed. "Do your thing, Mirror-Master." ((Where did _that_ come from?))

"Awesome! I love you guys!" She raced off back through the clutter of boxes.

"What are you doing?" Sam demanded. Kayla dived into her Bag of All Things Phantom and retrieved Leroux's novel. "Ree-search," she said airily, waving the book and imitating Jackie Chan Adventures.

"Okay, it says we need to lean on it and push sideways," she read, skimming through the pages.

Nothing happened.

"Other ideas?" Sam was so impatient.

"Hon, chill. She's working on it." I tried my best to placate her and gave Kayla a look that said 'Hurry up. Now.'

"Okay, here we go… Kendall, try the 'Angel of Music' intro again, would you please?"

"Sure thing." She ran to get the violin.

We leaned against the glass as she played a beautiful ((sorry, I think it's really pretty)) four measures. Surprisingly (to me anyway), the mirror slid open.

"You go, girl," I said appreciatively.

Sam leaned past me to peer into the passage.

"So, who wants to go down the creepy-tunnel-behind-the-dressing-room-mirror first?"

"Sam, you've been watching way too much _National Treasure_. Shut up."

**There you go, guys. If you like it, tell somebody! I love reviews!**


	3. Of Weight & Imagination

**Disclaimer:**_I own the four main characters. Not Erik. Not PotO. Just the girls and the storyline._

**Sam**

**Chapter 3 – Of Weight and Imagination**

Kendall set her violin on an old table behind us and I edged out of the way so Kayla wouldn't push me down the tunnel first. Therefore, I was totally surprised when she walked right through, still holding her book. Josie, Kendall and I clustered after her; none of us wanted to be last. I'm not into the whole 'Phantom craze' as much as they are, but I found myself thinking insane thoughts all the same, like 'OMG, what if he's behind us!'

I gasped when a drop of water hit my shoulder, and then I almost stepped on a rat. I'm not squeamish when it comes to rodents (I have a gerbil), but that was one big rat. I glanced at Josie's face for her reaction to this sewer-esque place, and realized that she was staring intently at everything, from the walls (lit with a few torches) to the ceiling, to the path ahead of us.

I tentatively put a hand on her shoulder and whispered, "Do you see something I don't see? 'Cause you're looking at this tunnel like it's the red carpet at the Oscars."

She stared at me for a moment.

"But Sam, how can you not see? All the torches, the opera posters, and the way everything seems to reflect and glitter…" she trailed off in a daze, but I shook her.

"What do you mean, 'glitter'? It's filthy down here! There are rats and dripping water, and there's not that many torches!"

Kayla heard my exclamation and turned around, a torch firmly clutched in the hand not carrying her precious novel.

"You guys are Phantom freaks, but why take the joke and make this creepy tunnel seem so pretty?" A look came over their faces like something had just dawned on them all at once. I stared at Kayla. "Well?"

"I get it…" she said with a slight frown.

"So?" I prompted.

"Well, I understand, I just… can't explain it to you," she finished.

How lame.

"That helps," I muttered.

"Okay, I'll try," Kendall volunteered. "Remember in the movie when Christine came in here and it was all –

"Weird?" I supplied. "With all the arms and torches, and everything glowing?"

She nodded.

"And then Meg came, and all she saw was rats and the dark and dripping water? The glowing bit was Christine's imagination. I bet if you just think of the movie you'll see it."

"What if I don't?"

"Then darn," said Kayla sourly. "That'd suck. Don't wanna be you –

"Okay, I get it," I said grumpily. I closed my eyes for a second and pictured the tunnel with torches held by people's arms sticking out of the walls. Then I opened my eyes and was almost blinded. ((Aargh – too many torches!))

Exactly like I'd remembered from the movie. This place was strange…

What the…? Oh. The boat. Haha – yeah right.

"You guys think it'll carry all of us?" Kayla asked.

"Well, each of us probably weighs around what Christine does," Josie calculated. "So two combined would maybe equal Erik –

"As long as Sam's one of the combined people; she weighs the least," Kayla (so helpfully) put in.

"So it's like adding another Christine," said Kendall. "Problem is, this thing doesn't look like it could hold another Christine…"

"Other question: Do any of you know how to get to that place from here?" I asked. "I mean, can you steer this thing?"

"There's no time like the present to find out," said Kayla happily, hopping in and seizing a skull-topped pole. "Or past, whichever way you look at it…"


	4. Navigation & Eventual Arrival

**Disclaimer:**_ I own the four main characters. Not Erik. Not PotO. That's all. Four main characters and the plotline._

**Kendall**

**Chapter 4 – Navigation and Eventual Arrival**

I was really unsure about getting in the gondola-boat-thingy. Not that I didn't trust Kayla and Josie, but… It's a small boat, and we'd all have to stand to fit. I tried not to let this insecure feeling show as I stepped in after Sam. "Kayla, do you know how to get there?" I asked as she pushed off.

"Kendall, please. Even you don't want to know how many times I've seen that section of the movie," she said. "This pole is heavy."

She 'rowed', if you could call it that, until we came to a three-way fork. I looked back at her and said with a hint of sarcasm, "So which way now?"

"Gimme a sec, I'm thinking," she muttered, riffling through the book's pages absentmindedly. Josie, Sam and I glanced at the three passages again.

Kayla came out of her thinking box a few minutes later. "I've got it!"

"Finally!" Sam interrupted. "We've been waiting for, like, two whole hours!"

"Stop it. It's only been five minutes," Josie corrected. "You are the most impatient person in the world, Sam."

"Anyway," Kayla continued, "the passage has gargoyles and statues."

"So that rules out the left side," I picked up, "And I remember there being grates on the wall to let light in."

"That leaves the right tunnel," said Josie.

"Okay, let's go!" Kayla started rowing again. "Monsieur le Fantôme, here we come!"

I rolled my eyes and was struck by a sudden thought. "Josie, question: ((I just finished reading the novel, so this question refers to it)) remember when the Persian first came down here and Erik almost killed him? What if that happens to us?"

Josie looked at me. "We fight back. He's got the element of surprise, but we've got strength in numbers. Four of us versus _him_, I think we can do it."

"Besides," Kayla had been listening in, "I'm thinking that from the look of this place, it's going to be more like the movie than the book."

"Great," Sam muttered. "He'll strangle us instead. I feel _so_ much better."

"Here we go…" Kayla pulled a lever on the wall.

"How do you know what that thing does?" Sam demanded apprehensively.

"Cause we're at the portcullis," Kayla pointed ahead of us. "And something has to raise and lower it." Sure enough, a metal gate was rising from the water, trailing bits of seaweed and rope.

"I wonder what time it is?" Josie asked suddenly, turning to us.

"Three-thirty," I said, glancing at my watch. "Why?"

She gave me a Look. "Like what time in the movie?"

I tried again. "Isn't it, like, in the 1800s or something?"

"Well, yeah," she gave me half the Look this time. "But _when_? Like, after the Opera House burned down, or during the Masquerade, or way into the aftermath, like the auction."

"Well, we'll just… have to ask," I said, trying to be funny. Josie snorted, and Kayla finally poled us up to the steps of the lair.

"I don't believe this," she breathed.


	5. Sneak Peek

**Disclaimer:** _I own the four girls and the storyline. Darnit._

**This chapter is REALLY short, sorry, but I needed a turnaround bit that wasn't squashed onto one of the other chapters.**

**Kayla**

**Ch. 5 – Sneak Peek**

I roped the gondola to a post and leapt from it.

"It looks exactly like in the film," Josie said, clambering out. "Either this is the biggest coincidence in history, or the film people really did their research." She walked up the stone steps, admiring every inch of the place.

By now Sam and Kendall had also jumped out of the boat. "It's kind of run-down, but in a pretty way," said Sam, observing the many red curtains

I was still trying to take in the fact that we were actually in the lair of the Phantom of the Opera when Kendall grabbed my shoulder.

"We should go back," she said. "We don't know where he's gone, or when he'll be back, and we really don't want to get caught."

"She's got a point, you guys," I said, snapping out of my reverie. "We should go back. Come on… need to figure this out…"

We returned to the boat reluctantly, and I quietly poled us back to the 'dock' area. I flung the rope around a post, snatched a torch, and led the way back down the corridors. We didn't really bother to be quiet as we ran back through the mirror, and looking back, it probably would have been a very good idea if we had.

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A/N: Yeah, I told you it was short! Review replies are in the next chapter!


	6. No Going Back Now

**Disclaimer: **_I own the girls and the plot. Not the Phantom._

**Review Replies: **Thank you guys sooo much for all the reviews! Here is the next chapter, and if you write more individually than just 'OMG, I love it' I'll be able to answer better, but until then, here ya go!

**Josie**

**Chapter 6 – No Going Back Now**

We got back through the mirror and I slammed it shut.

"Somebody pinch me. Now." I closed my eyes and held out an arm. At once, Sam leapt up and dug her fingernails into the back of my hand. I shrieked and almost slapped her.

"I said 'pinch', but never mind!" I glared at her, and she stuck out her tongue in reply.

"Give it a rest!" Kayla moved between us. "Now, what are we going to do?"

We were all silent, none of us wanting to voice the obvious. Finally, Kendall broke the quiet:

"Well, there's no going back now, is there?"

We stared at her. That wasn't exactly what I was thinking.

"What do you mean?" Kayla asked, and I caught a hint of defiance in her voice.

"I mean," Kendall turned to eye the dirty glass, "we've been there once, and obviously we all want to go back. Now we can't say the place isn't real, because we've all seen it."

I let out a breath of relief. "Yeah, but we need to be careful next time. We've all seen the film; we all know what Erik is capable of."

"I still can't believe what we saw _was_ real," said Kayla. "I mean, we went back through time in the space of about half a second."

"And into literature," I added. "Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, by Gaston Leroux, back in the early 1900s, I think. How do you go back in time to a place that never really existed, into the life of a man who never really existed?"

"The Opera House did and does still exist," Kayla corrected quietly. "And I've always believed the Phantom existed, too."

"'Cause you're obsessed," Sam muttered.

"Obsessed or not, that place was real," I objected. "And that means the Phantom is a real person."

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**The overseeing authoress finds this the appropriate time to (as aforementioned) intercede on the ****reader's and the plot's behalf. Also welcome today are the authoress' two muses: Erik and Alejandro.**

_Erik: (glaring daggers at Alejandro)_

_**Alejandro: (glances up and smiles seductively from beneath his fedora)**_

**Authoress: Erik, I need inspiration. What should come next?**

_Erik: (unsheathing his sword to use as a pointer) Ask him._

_**Alejandro: (fingers the blade tip) If I am to be assisting in any way with this story, it will not permit me time to give you the proper instruction with that.**_

_Erik: (growling) You dare say I don't know how to use my own sword?_

**Authoress: Now boys, play nice. Memo to all fanfiction readers: They have now become alter egos: Erik Phantom and Alejandro Zorro. Gotta love hott masked guys… Anyway, where should we start the next chapter?**

_Phantom: The godforsaken day they returned and jumped me._

_**Zorro: As long as Josie continues. She had a short chapter.**_

_Phantom: So what?_

_**Zorro: I am for the people, and the girl deserves a longer chapter than this.**_

_Phantom: (fingering Punjab lasso) … Fine. _

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**Okay, sorry about the fluff there, but I need to fast-forward and move the plot along somehow. Besides, I loooove Zorro. In fact, I like to say that Gerard Butler is the hottest guy since Antonio Banderas (1998) to wear a mask and run around with a black cape (aforementioned in I think chapter 2). Okay, cold shower first, then the next chapter.**

_Phantomfreak07_


	7. Author's Note

**Author's Note:**

**Okay all, I'm really sorry about this, but I have to postpone the posting sprees indefinitely. I've got 3 really LOW grades that need to be brought up, and until then I'm (needless to say) grounded from the computer. I'll be back on hopefully by next month, and I'll still put up a 'review' of HPGOF on my profile for you to check out!**

**Your obedient servant,**

**Phantomfreak07**


	8. Bag of All Things Phantom

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Erik or the Phantom or anything to do with the whole thing (or Zorro, for that matter). I own the girls and the plot. Erik and Alejandro are my muses by their own (slightly blackmailed) decisions._

**Review Reply: Sooo sorry about the delay, I'm back! Thanks to everybody! I love you!**

**Josie (Part II)**

**Chapter 7 – Bag of All Things Phantom**

That first day we found the mirror was a Wednesday night. We all agreed to spend the night at Kendall's on Friday so we could (duh) investigate further. On Friday night, I arrived around seven o'clock, ready for a night of unexpected surprises. I was still a little apprehensive about going in and finding Erik, but I knew deep down that it would all be cool. Kendall's mom let me in and I raced to the bedroom to ditch my sleepover stuff. I grabbed a flashlight from my bag and flew down to the basement to find Kayla, Sam and Kendall chatting about how we wanted to go about this.

"… dunno if he'll be there or not," Kayla was saying.

"He should be," I cut in, tossing the flashlight to her. "It's night, remember?"

I noticed the bulging bag on her lap.

"And what is all that?" I indicated it.

Her face lit up. I could tell she'd been dying for me to ask.

"This is my self-proclaimed Bag of All Things Phantom," she said, diving into it.

"Oh boy," I muttered, sitting down next to Kendall. "Fine, whatcha got?"

"Okay, here goes: _Phantom of the Opera_, Leroux version, _Phantom,_ Kay version, my CD player, my CDs (including London and film soundtracks), my 2-disc Phantom DVD, my sketchpad, my spiral and quill pen, my cell phone, my laptop, jeans, hoodie, a T-shirt, and a nightie. You don't know how long we'll be there," she said defensively, seeing the look on my face.

"You realize a cell probably won't work there," I pointed out, trying to stay away from the clothing issue.

"Well, you're probably right," she conceded. "But I like having it with me anyway."

Sam rolled her eyes.

"Why'd you bring a flashlight?" Kayla asked me. "Think we'll be able to see him with it?"

"You never know," I said, grinning. "There wasn't electricity in his time; it might freak him out."

Comprehension dawned and a grin spread across her face too. "Touché."

I sighed. "Well, why are you bringing all your CDs and your laptop and your DVD, then?"

"They run on batteries," she said shortly. "And I want to see if he looks like Gerard Butler."

She grinned. My Lord, she is sooo obsessed with that guy.

"What do you think he's going to look like?" Sam asked. "He can't be that different."

"Well," Kayla started, "he can either have the burned-flesh look, like Gerry, or the completely-deformed look, as seen on Michael Crawford, or he could be totally different, meaning nobody did research very well."

We stared at her.

"What?" she asked innocently. "_I_ do _extensive_ research on these topics. Sue me."

We were all silent for a moment.

"If there's no electricity in his time," Kendall said suddenly, "do you think he'll flip out when he sees the DVD? I mean, it's a moving, sound-making picture, really."

I cracked up. "Kendie, only you would think of that."

Kayla glanced at her watch. "Guys, you wanna go now? We don't want to spend the entire night there… Do we?"

We looked at each other.

"Well, it is a sleepover," said Sam. "Kendall, would your mom and dad notice? I mean, do they check on you guys before they go to bed?"

"No. They go to bed around ten, and if we leave the music on in my room they shouldn't notice."

"Good thing, too," said Kayla. "It's 9:30 now. Let's go!"

**Yeah, here we go… again. Dun-dun-dunnn So, what are we gonna find this time? Any ideas? Review and let me know!**


	9. Down Once More

**Disclaimer:** _Okay, I shall say it once again: I own the girls, the storyline, and that's IT. Not Erik (sniff), not Zorro (sniff sniff), no hott masked guys._

**Sam**

**Chapter 8 – Down Once More**

I got to my feet slowly. For some reason, I felt a lot more nervous now than I did last time, when I actually found the mirror.

We shoved the old boxes away from it and pushed – Kendall had brought her violin downstairs as her contribution to all our stuff.

The dream began again…

When we got to the boat this time, I was struck by a sudden thought.

"How is the boat supposed to stay floating with all of our stuff? Last time it was only us, but with all this…" I indicated Kayla's and my bags, "I think it might sink."

Kayla gave me a Look and jumped in. "Well, if it does, then we'll just swim," she said sarcastically.

We stepped in very cautiously, and the boat rocked wildly. "Cut it out!" Josie cried.

I wasn't about to admit that Kayla had scared me, too.

"I was just making sure we'd stay floating," said Kayla innocently. "Let's go already."

As we floated down the passages, I thought I heard music. "Did somebody leave their CD player --?"

"Shhh!" All three of them cut me off.

"I think he's home tonight," Kayla whispered over the quiet splashes of her rowing pole.

"_Music of the Night_…" Josie sighed. "It's so beautiful, better than in the movie."

I didn't want to believe this. I would have slapped myself, but Kendall grabbed my hand. "If he hears you," she hissed, "you don't know what could happen."

I nodded and whispered back, "Then I'm glad Josie's in front of me."

Most unfortunately, she heard that.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she whispered loudly.

"Nothing," I said hurriedly, pointing ahead of us. "How are we supposed to get in without him hearing us?"

Kayla pulled the lever. "We're not."

**Okay, a bit of a cliffhanger there; I'm still working on my cliffhangers – some of them aren't as good as I want them to be, but… sigh that's just the way it is. I'll leave personal replies for next chapter, since I'm updating with 2 tonight!Please R&R, greatly appreciated!**


	10. FacetoFace With the Punjab Lasso

**Disclaimer:** _I don't own PotO. I own the girls and their ideas and the storyline. Now READ!_

**Review Replies:**

**Enchantment3000: Thanks so much! Don't worry, they will. I've got loads planned for these guys...**

**mrs. malfoy: Thanks a lot, enjoy it!**

**Mouse in the Opera House: yea, somebody new! thanks for reading, I'm updating as quickly as I can!**

**Erik&Christine: Awww, that's kind of sweet, you angry for me. thanks, lol. They FINALLY meet Erik, I was so happy to finally get around to this chapter. btw, the laptop can play dvds, as can the portable dvd player that Sam has (you don't know that yet, tho. :))**

**Kendall**

**Chapter 9 – Face-to-Face With the Punjab Lasso**

The gate creaked as it rose from the water, and now everything seemed louder than normal. From recently finishing the novel, I knew Erik's senses were better than most people's. The organ instantly stopped, and as we floated beneath the gate, I saw that the candles were all lit, sheet music was littered across the keys, but the bench was empty. We came to rest on the bank, and Kayla tied the gondola-thing off again.

"Now what?" I whispered to her.

She appeared not to hear, but was glancing around the room with complete alertness.

"_Monsieur_?" she called out. "_Monsieur, ou étés-vous_?"

No answer.

"_Ca chanson, c'est très belle_," she tried again.

I suddenly felt very uneasy.

"Kayla, you don't know where he is," Josie whispered urgently. "He could be anywhere in here."

Anywhere…

Kayla gave up speaking in French. "Monsieur, please come out. Where are you?"

No answer again.

Sam leapt from the boat to the steps and ran up to the piano bench.

"He disappeared! He's nowhere up here!"

"How do you know?" Kayla asked.

"No wonder he likes the organ up here," Sam muttered. "You can see the entire place from the bench."

Kayla and Josie stooped to pick up their things, and I stepped onto the bank.

I went up the steps and raised my voice a little, looking up at the domed ceiling.

"No wonder we could hear the music, this place has awesome acoustics!"

I heard a gasp from behind me and Sam cried, "Josie!"

I turned around to look.

Josie was holding her flashlight, one foot on the lowest step, and the Phantom stood behind her, the Punjab lasso tight around her neck.

**Okay, that's the most clichéd cliffhanger ever, and 'Josie' is probably gonna kill me for it, but I didn't want everything to happen to Kayla. (She's my character, and probably would have had that happen to her if it weren't for my supreme self-control.) Anyway, please R+R! I could care less if you give me flames (if you don't like the story then why take the time to tell me you hate it?), however I will listen to constructive criticism and (duh) good reviews!**

_**Phantomfreak07**_

**PS: French: Ou étés-vous: where are you?**

**Ca chanson, c'est belle: That song is pretty.**


	11. Girl Power

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own the Phantom. I own the four girls, of whom all four are soon to be in mortal peril. I loooove writing like this!_

**A/N: Wow, good reviews this time! And FYI for all of yous, I'm on a bit of a posting spree today. Without any further ado...**

**Enchantment3000: (scoffs) you actually think I'll let my best friend die? That's the way it goes sometimes, sacrifice a character for the sake of the plot... but not here! It's gonna be okay! He doesn't really 'attack', per se, he just wants to know why they're there in the first place. (So obviously, put one in danger and they'll talk. Or close to it.)**

**Mouse in the Opera House: I loooove your name, it's so cute! Scary mental images are good, they turn into funny mental images. You'll see...**

**Erik&Christine: Everyone's worried about Josie (duh, obvious...) Read and find out! And thanks for caring about the reviews, that's never really happened to me before:) **

**Charlie Quill: Thanks:)**

**Kayla**

**Chapter 10 – Girl Power**

A black-cloaked figure now stood in front of me, obstructing my view of Josie, Sam and Kendall. Time seemed frozen for a moment, and I heard Josie gasping for breath. I straightened up quietly and heard him ask in perfect French,

"_Pourquoi étés-vous ici?"_

His voice was rough and deadly, hardly above a whisper, but we all heard it.

I didn't know what he would do if I tried to get out of the boat, so I decided to find out. I snatched my bag and jumped in the water.

Erik's head snapped around, and he stared daggers at me as I clambered up the bank. I saw that the lasso was still tight around Josie's neck, but her eyes flashed a mischievous warning at me.

"_Répondez!"_ Erik thundered. His grip on the lasso slackened in his anger, and Josie took full advantage of the situation.

She stomped on his foot, pushed herself back against his chest, and pulled the lasso away from her neck. Slipping it over her head, she ran up the steps next to me and spun to face him.

Erik yelped when she stepped on him and now stood on one foot, glaring at her. Josie finally answered his question:

"Messrs. Andre and Firmin sent us to kill you."

Her voice matched his in deadliness.

Erik gaped at her, incredulous. "How do you plan to do it, mademoiselle?"

Josie picked up one of the candelabras from his desk and thrust it in front of her.

With the agility of a cat, Erik coiled the lasso, leapt up the stairs and landed within six inches of her.

"Shoot."

We scattered. Sam and Kendall ducked into the Louis-Philippe room, I flew behind the organ, and Josie ran into Erik's bedroom. I peeked around the organ; Erik was slowly advancing, like a tiger ready to pounce.

"Erik," I said tentatively, "please… _arrêtez__…_ stop… please…" I hesitated. _"Parlez-vous anglais?"_

He stopped for a moment.

"At all?" I asked, earning a glare from him.

"Not well?" I tried again, remembering what he had just asked Josie.

"Well enough," he growled.

I came slowly around the organ. "Will you please do me a favor and swear not to Punjab us?"

"Why should I? How and why are you here in the first place?"

He advanced and I backed against the organ.

"Okay, that thing Josie said about us being sent to kill you was a lie," I said, talking fast. "We wanted to know if you really existed, and you do, and it's amazing."

Confusion flashed in his eyes, but a smirk tugged at his lips.

"Of course it was a lie," he chuckled. "Andre and Firmin disappeared three years ago, after the… the fire." He suddenly glared at me. "But who are you? How did you ever hear of me? I haven't set foot above ground since that night; no one knows of me."

How wrong he was.

"Before I answer that highly interesting question, can they come out?" I gestured toward his bedroom and the Louis-Philippe room, both of which still had their doors tightly closed. He strode to his own door first.

In a tone to raise the dead, he roared, "GET OUT OF MY ROOM NOW!"

The door opened a crack and Josie peeked out. "Heck no. I'm not coming out unless you… how did it go? In _Beauty & the Beast_… oh yeah. _You must control your temper!"_ She slammed the door and I heard her giggling to herself.

Erik's hands, however, were clenched into fists, so I steered him over to the Louis-Philippe room. "Try the girls," I suggested. "I'll get Josie."

I opened the door to Erik's room and found Josie sitting at another organ that was pushed against the wall. Her fingers ran over the keys. "I wonder how many times he's played this," she mused aloud. "Look at this – the keys are all worn down… Do you think he'd get mad if I played something?"

I shrugged. "I might, if I were him. You know, four girls come in and basically attack him." I grinned. "Well, one did anyway. Besides, now he wants to know who we are, how we got here, all that stuff."

"Yeah, okay. Maybe I could play later."

We came out of his bedroom to find Sam and Kendall sitting on the floor by the (slightly larger) organ. Erik stood in front of them, and on Kendall's lap was…

"Ayesha!" I squealed in delight.

**I have discovered, as I am writing this, that it is a story now based on three things: Leroux's original novel, the movie, and now Kay's novel (see Ayesha). Hope you like it, I couldn't bear to pass up the opportunity of putting Ayesha in! Please R&R!**

**Phantomfreak07**


	12. Telling Erik

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own anything Phantom. I own my characters._

**Josie**

**Chapter 11 – Telling Erik**

Kayla raced to Kendall's side, nearly knocking Erik over in her sudden excitement. On Kendall's lap was a Siamese cat wearing a diamond collar. Kendall hugged the cat close, pretending to fight Kayla off.

Erik raised an eyebrow. "How do you know all this about me?"

He swept behind us and sat on the bench. "You know Ayesha, you know me, and you obviously knew how to get here. How?"

Sam looked up from Ayesha. "Are you… mad that we're here?"

His gaze flicked over her. "I'm not mad per se, more curious than anything."

"Where should we start?" I asked.

"Shall we start with your names?" he suggested. "Ages, where you're from…"

"Okay, I'll start," said Kayla. "And I'm adding a category to that list: why we each came. First, my name's Kayla, I'm seventeen, and… well, we're from the future; if this is 1873 like I think it is."

"And how did this… time-travel occur?"

"Well, we were at her house," she pointed at Kendall, still cradling Ayesha. "And we found a mirror on the wall in her basement, and we came through and there was the passage, and we got in the boat and came down here, but you weren't home. That was a few days ago."

"And your reason for returning to this place?"

"I've read so much about you!" she could hardly contain her excitement. "I've read three books, seen the movie, seen the musical, all of this, and… I just… I don't know how to say it…"

"How do you know about me in the first place?" His voice had acquired the dangerous tone again.

"Well, you're… famous. This novel was written in the early 1900s, a movie was made about it in 1925, a play was directed in 1986, and the movie based on the musical just came out last year in 2004. I was you for Halloween last year, too," she added.

He simply stared at her.

"I readily admit I border on obsession and insanity over this topic," she said, grinning.

Erik shook his head, and I snorted with laughter. "Kayla, give him a break already."

He turned his gaze on me. "Moving on…"

I blushed slightly. "My name's Josie, I'm sixteen, and… we're from America."

"I surmised as much," he said. "You don't have a British accent, but you speak English. I was rather surprised to hear you speaking French, however. How much of my language do you know?"

"Enough to order something from a restaurant, say where we're going, what we're doing, tell time, the weather…" I trailed off, thinking. "And a few other things."

"I used to know that stuff," Kendall chimed in. "But I couldn't take French last year, so I forgot a lot of the verbs and things. But I can still say bonjour," she added, laughing. "Okay, my name's Kendall, I'm seventeen, and I love cats. I have three at home."

"Erik," I said on an impulse, "what do you usually have for eats around here?"

"_Pardonnez-moi?"_

I heaved a sigh. _"Qu'est-ce que vous mangez?"_

"I don't eat," he said nonchalantly.

We stared at him.

"Well, no wonder you're so thin. Not that it isn't attractive," Kayla said, grinning.

"_Pardonne?"_

"Well, I'm sure we could do something for dinner," she continued, indicating Kendall, who nodded.

"I'm going to culinary school back in our… um, time," she said.

"And she's the best," Kayla gushed. "She made these little chocolate roses the other day, they were delicious."

"I don't keep much, just salmon and milk for Ayesha. There's some horsemeat in an upstairs room, if you think you can eat that…"

"Gross!" I cried. "You people eat _horses_? That is the most disgusting thing I have ever heard of!"

"I never said anything about _me_ eating them," he protested. "People who live in the outside world do; they're all starving. They eat cats, too. I saved Ayesha before someone got to her though," he said quickly, seeing the look of revulsion on Kendall's face.

"I'll see what I can find later," he muttered.

He noticed Sam on the floor next to Kendall, stroking Ayesha's head.

"I'm afraid we never got around to you, my dear," he said quietly.

Sam jumped. "What else is there to know?" she asked. "You know where we're from and how we got here."

"Name," the four of us said in unison.

"_Fine,"_ she said, "I'm Sam, and I'm thirteen."

"Sam?" Erik echoed. "What kind of name is that for a lady?"

She pouted. "It's short for Samantha, but I hate how long that is. So I shortened it."

"Well, I'm lengthening it," he said, his eyes gleaming. "Pleasure to meet you, Mademoiselle _Samantha_."

We laughed, and she went back to petting Ayesha.

**Okay, 11 chapters down. You're probably wondering when this will start to pick up, and the answer is as soon as I get ideas! People steal mine! I had the idea that since Kayla has a laptop they could go to a buddy chat room, but that was already done. I don't care what y'all say, he's still gonna watch the DVD!**


	13. Captivated

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own anything Phantom. I own my characters._

**Sam**

**Chapter 12 – Captivated**

"Erik, could you please play something for us?" Kayla asked.

He sighed and glanced at the enormous organ.

"I haven't played this for three years… I doubt I remember how."

"But you put the whole thing back together," I said. "You must have played a little, to see if it works."

"And… wait a minute. Don't lie to us!" Josie jumped up.

Erik rose, looking startled but intimidating at the same time.

"What are you saying, mademoiselle?" he growled.

"You remember it perfectly!"

"What?"

"Don't play stupid," she persisted. "We heard you playing when we got here!"

"Erik, don't you get it?" Kayla asked. "We don't want you to play just _anything_."

"You want me to play _that_?" he asked in disbelief. "Why?"

Kayla could have collapsed in frustration. If I were her, I probably would have. I didn't think he would be this dense.

"It's the most beautiful song I've ever heard, and that is saying something!" she declared. "I've heard it instrumental, just piano and strings, very beautiful; I've heard it sung in English, and I've heard it sung in French."

I looked over at Kayla. Her eyes had a sort of alert-but-somehow-dreamy look in them.

Erik stared back at her. "I don't want to know quite yet how you came upon that, but how shall I play it?"

"English," we all decided at once.

He sighed, retreating to the bench again.

Josie sank back to the floor; Kendall was absentmindedly scratching Ayesha's ears.

Kayla's face lit up at the first hint of the introduction, and Erik's smooth voice carried us all into fantasy-land.

** You all know how Music of the Night goes (I hope), therefore I am spared the trouble of copying down the lyrics. **

I've seen the movie and Kayla has (on occasion) forced me to listen to the London recording, but nothing – I repeat – NOTHING – could compare to Erik's voice. He was Gerard Butler and Michael Crawford added together. It was amazing, to hear him sing that melody which all phangirls repeat in their minds before they go to bed. (Well, some of them.) I'm not sure when I drifted off to sleep, but I think his voice followed me into dreams as well; comforting and captivating.

I remember being lifted up and laid on really soft sheets, and the next thing I knew…

"Erik! Are you out there?"

"Whaz goin on?" I slurred sleepily, twisting around to see the others.

Kendall came into my blurred focus first. "The door's locked."

I yawned. "Well, somebody unlock it so we can get out. I have to pee."

I vaguely caught a Look from Kayla. "You numbskull, if I could unlock it, don't you think I would?"

"Dunno."

She turned back to the door and yelled, "Erik, are you anywhere in the vicinity?"

A voice above me made me leap out of the bed. _"Yes."_

The others spun around. "Stop playing games and let us out!" Josie yelled.

"_Afraid not."_

"Why?"

"_Why do you think?"_

"I've read enough fanfics to say that you think we'll run off and tell people all about you," said Kayla. "Is that it?"

No answer.

"Fine!" she yelled. "Be that way! But… Erik?"

"_Yes?"_

"We have to… go."

"_Are there no chamber pots in your time? They have a purpose besides sitting under your bed, you know."_

I pulled a face. "Ew, that's gross! Why can't we come out?"

"_I have a reputation to uphold, do I not? You are my captives."_

"I don't think so, _Monsieur le Fantôme_." Josie muttered, taking a pin from her hair.

"Girl, you rock!" Kayla exclaimed, slapping her a high-five. We could hear the organ playing in the main room, but our attention was focused on Josie's attempts with the door. In a moment –

"Ch-ching," Josie whispered, hearing a quiet click. "Now, shall we go haunt the Opera Ghost?"

"Do you want to make him mad again?" I asked.

"Nah… we'll just impress him with our superior feminine intellect," she replied, grinning. Kendall and I laughed, and we snuck out the door.

**Okay, I was going for 'Captivated' in two senses of the word, hope you caught that. If not, I'm telling you now: they were obviously in love with the song (i.e., _captivated_), and then they were his hint hint captives. Yeah, I'm writing this at like 11 PM, so sorry if it seems like I'm out of it or w/e. Enjoy!**


	14. Superior Feminine Intellect

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Phantom. Gerry is currently AWOL from Silvermasque's closet though… hmm, three guesses where he went. I'm so glad you can't hear the muffled sounds coming from MY closet through the computer. HA!_

**Kendall**

**Ch. 13 – Superior Feminine Intellect**

We slipped through the door and were greeted with the pounding of Erik's _ insanely loud _ organ.

I could barely hear Kayla as she said, "Okay, on the count of three, we scream his name as loud as we can."

As we crept around to stand behind him, I noticed he was playing with his eyes closed. (That's dedication.) I glanced at Kayla, and she mouthed, "One… two… three…"

"**ERIK!"**

If I live to be 100, I will never forget his reaction. It was the most hysterical thing in the world. Here's the play-by-play:

We scream his name

He bangs out the wrong chord on the organ

He screams

He leaps _on top_ of the organ

We dissolve in hysterical laughter

…Of course, five seconds later, he swept down and we ran like heck.

"_Your hand at the level of your eyes,"_ Kayla sang, skidding to a halt and turning to face Erik.

We all stopped and watched the confrontation. If we weren't all afraid for our lives, the scene would have been seriously funny (especially since Kayla gets made fun of for being short sometimes). They stood barely two feet apart, Kayla gazing up, Erik staring down. I could see the longing in her eyes, how bad she wanted to lean up and kiss him. Erik was breathing smoothly, his eyes narrowed.

Out of the blue, Kayla said, "Well, ask already!"

Erik blinked. "What?" he snapped.

"Don't you want to know how we got out without wetting ourselves?"

I covered my mouth to stifle my laughter, and Josie snorted.

Erik raised an eyebrow. "You are crude."

Kayla responded with a smirk, and he looked around at the rest of us.

"How _did_ you get out?"

"We used SFI," said Josie. "Long story."

"Surely not too long," he countered. "Seeing as how it only took five minutes to execute that maneuver."

"We'll tell you what it stands for, but you'll probably still find it… annoying, to say the least," I said.

"I'm listening."

"Superior…" (Kayla)

"Feminine…" (Me)

"Intellect," Josie finished.

Erik rolled his eyes at us, and Josie produced her hairpin.

"It was simple," she explained. "Insert the pin into the lock and –

"I know how to pick a lock," Erik interrupted. "What sort of Phantom would I be if I couldn't pick a lock?"

He drew himself up to full height as he said this, and Kayla went dreamy-eyed. (I swear she could have been drooling.)

"Maybe you have other ways to get through a locked door," she suggested. "Hence the Opera _Ghost_?"

He spread his arms and sighed. "Mademoiselle, I am a magician. You should know that magic in this modern world is simply logic not explained."

She leaned slightly closer. "So what's magic outside the modern world?"

His amber gaze never left her face. "Magic is… complex and simple all at once. Real magic cannot be explained. Hence the reason I cannot explain it now."

"No, that explanation was just fine, monsieur," she said.

In one fluid motion, Kayla put her hands on his shoulders, stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek.

Erik jerked away from her, anger emanating from him again.

She raced back to where we stood halfway up the steps, pursued by his rage-filled voice. **"Why did you do that?"**

"Once again, superior feminine intellect," she said. "You don't know how many times I've dreamt about doing that."

Sam, Josie and I were in an exasperated shock. How do you cope with the fact that your best friend just kissed the Opera Ghost?

**I didn't really know how to end this chapter, so that's a bit of an abrupt halt. Sorry! I really didn't do Nikki any justice in this one, seeing as how it should be her chapter. Erik's chapter up next!**


	15. Investigating the Impossible

**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own PotO (if I did, would I be writing phanphics? Probably… no, definitely not!) The girls are mine and my friends' creations – they're practically just us in Phantom world._

**A/N: Thanks to all you guys for the awesome reviews! ...In response, I guess I'll have to start sending back the private messages. Oh well. Anyway, I didn't really want Erik to have a big thing over the kiss. Sorry! I've got a lot more chapters to update after this, keep reading!**

**Erik**

**Ch. 14 – Investigating the Impossible**

I cannot _believe_ I allowed these girls to stay down here with me. Maybe I should put the morphine away in a cabinet for a while. What am I saying! That'll probably be my best escape now. It was bad enough when I was alone (except for Ayesha, of course) and wallowing in the fact that Christine was gone, now I have _four, quatre, _females living with me. Dear God, what did I do to deserve this?

**THUNDER, LIGHTNING, AND AN AUTHORESS NOTE **

_**That's why I sent them. You need to stop thinking about Christine and start learning more about the girls. You never know – they might be able (or even willing) to help you.**_

D'accord, whatever that was…

I disappeared into my room for what remained of the morning, but soon there was a thunderous pounding on the door. I ignored it for as long as I could, and finally (after repeated cries of _'Erik!_ _Nous avons manger quelque chose!'_ and the like) I thrust the door outward.

The result was rather amusing; Josie and Kayla toppled backward and Sam grabbed onto the doorknob.

"Go—to—the—kitchen," I snarled. "I've told you I don't eat."

"You were serious?" Sam quipped, but led the way all the same.

I went back to composing, but a few minutes later I heard a thud and decided to investigate.

I slithered into the kitchen (if you could call it that) to see that they had found my underground wine cellar and freezer. It appeared they had jumped in.

I heard Kendall yell up, "A little dark down here, don't you think, Erik?"

I glanced down and cast my voice into the very walls. _"Not to me, non."_

There was an impatient exhale. "Of course not to _you_. Can you toss down my flashlight, at least?" Josie ask-yelled.

I hadn't the foggiest what a flashlight was, but I swept into the Louis-Philippe room in search of one anyway. Lying on the bed was a small plastic case with metallic buttons. _Non,_ I thought, _it sounds like some kind of lamp._

I picked up one of the bags Kayla had brought in and opened it. The material was overflowing with books and other interesting things. I laid it all out on the bed to examine.

There was another metallic case, a quill pen, all sorts of paper, clothes, and a few books. The smaller one immediately caught my eye. It was paperback, with a glossy black cover and… now that was _très interessant_, perhaps even unbelievable. On the front cover was a picture of a white mask, strongly reminiscent of my own, and… a rose tied with black ribbon. I shivered in confusion. How was this possible?

I heard someone clear their throat from the doorway and spun around. Kayla stared at me with a mixture of surprise and disappointment. She walked slowly to my side, looking at the mess on the bed and forcing a laugh.

"I forgot you don't know what a flashlight is," she said, smiling slightly.

She glanced up at me and saw that I was watching her with a fierce intensity. "What?"

I picked up the black book. _"Explanation, s'il vous plait."_

Her eyes widened. "Ohhh, snap."

_You call that sufficient explanation, girl?_

I wanted to shake her back to her senses, but she turned and fled the room calling for the others. They returned moments later.

"Well, that's ironic," Josie said. "_Le Fantôme, et le Fantôme._"

"You were the one who yelled for the flashlight," Kendall said.

"Yeah, but that's all Kayla's stuff," said Josie pointedly.

Still I waited. _"Dites-moi!"_

Kayla retrieved the book from my grasp and began putting everything back in the bag. "This," she held the novel in my face, "You never saw this. Not yet. Got it? _Ca va?"_

I glared at her. "Fine."

She sighed and tossed it onto the bed. "We found lunch without light, thanks for asking."

I moved to protest and she waved me off. "It's okay, really. And we found… something else."

I stopped halfway through exiting the room, turning to face them. _"Quoi?"_

The girls slid onto the bed without a word and Sam ushered me out, closing the door gently.

"Nice wine selection."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**This wasn't what it started out as. I originally continued the last chapter into them finding something to eat, but I changed my mind when I realized how long that would make it. So it's Erik's POV, finding THE NOVEL. I enjoy writing things when they just come out of nowhere (like this). Let me know what you think!**


	16. Lessons in Dancing Part I

**Disclaimer: **_I own the girls. I don't own Erik, but having Gerry snuggled in my bed wipes that sorrow from my mind entirely. Mwahahaha. Afterthought: I don't own Avril Lavigne, Rihanna or their music either._

**Kayla**

**Ch. 15 – Lessons in Dancing: Part I**

I leapt onto the bed and almost knocked Kendall off. Josie and Sam fell next to us and we lay there for a moment, still trying to soak in the fact that we were in the lair of one of the greatest characters in history.

"Am I dreaming?" I asked in a daze.

"I think…" (Sam)

"If you are…" (Kendall)

"Then we're all insane," Josie finished, a grin spreading across her face. (This is highly uncharacteristic for her unless she's mondo-hyper. Hint hint.)

We all fell back on the bed and screamed hysterically. (Josie and the Pussycats moment.)

Sam leaned over the bed and pulled my laptop out of the bag Erik had left on the floor. "Let's listen to something. I need music."

A wicked grin (also uncharacteristic) spread across Kendall's face, and Josie asked, "Did you bring Avril, by chance?"

I knew it. "Head-banging coming up!"

I slipped _Under My Skin_ into the disc drive and went to track three. "Let's see how he handles major gee-tar and bass," I said, turning the volume to max.

_He Wasn't_ blared from the computer and we all jumped a little.

_He wasn't what I wanted, what I thought, no,_

_He wouldn't even open up the door,_

_He never made me feel like I was special,_

_He isn't really what I'm looking for!_

I let loose with a (terrible) air guitar, matching Josie. All you could see of Kendall and Sam was loose hair flying everywhere.

As predicted, Erik burst back through the door just as we hit the second chorus.

"**TURN THAT GOD-AWFUL RACKET OFF NOW!" **he roared over Avril's screeching electric guitar.

Sam put out a hand to steady herself and gently tapped the space bar to pause the music.

"Everything okay, Erik?" Josie asked innocently.

"_**YOU KNOW FULL WELL EVERYTHING IS NOT OKAY!"**_

"You don't have to talk in capitalized bold italics just because you're angry," said Kendall coolly. "We'd get the same message either way."

Erik shot her a death glare in reply.

"So… what's up?" asked Josie, still projecting innocence.

"Come again?"

"_Ca va?"_

"NON. What _was_ that horrid screeching?"

I slipped into sarcastic mode. "It was _music._ I expected you of all people to recognize a good heartbreak song when you hear it."

Erik snorted. "That was not music. That was garbage bins crashing and someone yelling at the top of their lungs."

Josie growled (literally). "You—will—pay."

He turned serenely away to inspect the laptop.

"Did you want to hear something?" Her voice struggled to maintain calm.

He gave her a pained look. "As long as it doesn't include that rubbish I was just privy to hearing."

Sam's eyes glinted mischievously and she snatched my CD case.

"Here's something, then."

In a flash, she removed Avril and inserted a bright orange disc.

A beat issued from the computer, reminiscent of Mambo #5. The four of us were immediately sucked into the song, bouncing on the balls of our feet.

_Come Mister DJ, song pon de replay,_

_Mister DJ, won't you turn the music up?_

I am not a hip-roller by normal nature, but that song can make me do the weirdest stuff. Aside from other things, it gives me confidence (in part because I know all the words!)

Moving to the music, I sauntered over to where Erik stood frozen facing the door and spun him around.

_Well I'm ready for ya, come let me show you_

_You want to groove, I'm-a show ya how to move_

Erik's gaze never left me as I turned to the beat, hands at my waist, my entire body flowing to the music. (Suggestive? Yes… I hope)

I bounced over and banged hips with Kendall, both of us cracking up at the look on Erik's face.

His eyes were wide, and the one eyebrow we could see was raised. Needless to say, a state of utter shock.

I turned and walked him backward into the wall, then spun on my heel and stalked away. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Sam dancing like she was in the song's music video. (She's a good dancer, love her to death! )

_Ev'rybody get down if ya feel me,_

_Put your hands up to the ceiling_

_Ev'rybody get down if ya feel me,_

_Come and put your hands up to the ceiling_

We swayed dreamily, still bouncing to the song as it faded out.

Erik kept himself pinned against the wall, his amber eyes gazing at us warily.

"What," he inquired in constricted tones, "was _that_?"

Josie tossed her hair. "_That_," she replied, "is dancing."

Erik snorted again. "_Pardonnez-moi, mademoiselle,"_ he said. "But that looked more like…"

"Yes?" we prompted together.

"Something… I will not voice aloud," he finished, blushing slightly.

"In that case, call it modern dancing," I suggested. Out of nowhere, I started cracking up again. (And of course, everyone looked at me.)

"What random memory is it this time?" Sam gave me a Look.

"David… sophomore year… lunch table…" I choked out, watching Josie and Kendall. This made no sense whatsoever to Sam or Erik, but the other two groaned and started giggling as well.

"I hope you have an idea as to what they're talking about, Mademoiselle Samantha?" Erik asked conversationally, his eyes glinting. Sam gave him a Look.

"Tch, yeah right. High school inside jokes. I don't get 'em either."

Pause.

"And it's SAM!"

"Wow, that's good," said Josie. (Back to Inside-Joke-ness.) "Would you care to enlighten us as to this specific memory?"

"Seeing as how _we_ never dance like that, David probably would've called it…," I hesitated, then, in a whispered breath: "Hot-bunny-rabbit-sex-dance."

At this, Josie, Kendall and I fell on the floor in hysterical laughter.

Erik allowed this to continue for nigh on ten minutes, then cleared his throat and stepped over us.

"Would you prefer to learn to dance the way I know?" he asked.

"Depends on which way you dance," Josie countered. "I can salsa."

I raised a triumphant fist at the memory. "COOLEST MEXICAN LADY EVER!"

Erik cocked his eyebrow at me and pulled Josie to her feet.

"My dear, I was thinking more along the lines of the waltz," he purred.

"Shall we?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Oooh, shivers. I don't believe I'm saying this, but I'm jealous of my best friend's character. Oh well. PON DE REPLAY RULES! And yes, David is a real person and yes, he really did say that when I was in sophomore year. R&R!**

**PS: He still says it.**

**PPS: Hugs to all reviewers for simply being reviewers! **


	17. Lessons in Dancing Part II

**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own PotO. The girls are me and my friends, so I suppose I own them to a certain extent. And FYI, Alan is Josie's would-be boyfriend._

**Josie**

**Ch. 16 – Lessons in Dancing: Part II**

Erik pulled me to my feet and I blushed slightly.

"I… don't really know how to do this," I said quietly.

He said nothing, but placed my left hand on his shoulder and took the other in his own.

"There's no music," I pointed out as he was going about this.

"My bad," Kayla set the computer in her lap and clicked.

Erik looked at me. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were making up these excuses to get out of dancing…"

Kayla snapped her fingers to get his attention. "Any personal preferences?"

Sam looked over her shoulder. "Since when did your library get classical --?" Kayla clamped a hand over her mouth (thankfully Erik didn't notice).

She continued, "Beethoven, Gershwin…"

"Mozart," Erik decided, and I turned back to face him.

Sam reached over and clicked the mouse, and an orchestral intro filled the air.

One thing was certain to me: this was definitely not Mozart.

I saw Kendall's eyes widen in anticipation and my gaze snapped to Erik's face as a velvety baritone purred:

_Nighttime sharpens_

_Heightens each sensation_

_Darkness stirs and_

_Wakes imagination_

_Silently the senses_

_Abandon their defenses…_

Erik had frozen when he heard the first line, his eyes flashing from turquoise to intense amber. Nevertheless, we began to move across the floor.

I was a little stiff (nervous, you would be too!) and looked at him fearfully when I trod on his foot.

To all of our surprise, he chuckled quietly.

"I won't kill you if you step on my foot," he smiled, "Just relax. Flow with the music. You have to let it consume you."

His last statement opened me entirely. I listened to Gerard's voice, singing:

_Close your eyes,_

_Let your spirit start to soar…_

I closed my eyes and an electric shock raced through me. And I lived as I'd never lived before.

Erik noticed this relaxation and swept me around the room, his lips moving to Gerry's words.

I moved out away from him, then spun back into his arms. I leaned back against his chest, savoring the secure feeling.

My fantasies were spinning around my mind, and for a moment I forgot where I was. "Alan…" I murmured, my head resting on a strong shoulder.

I heard a voice whisper in my ear, "Oh, Christine…"

My eyes snapped open as Erik stroked my hair and caressed my cheek.

I turned back to face him and we saw in each others' eyes the disappointment that fantasy leaves behind.

_Help me make the music of the night…_

Erik kissed the back of my hand and gave an elegant bow as the song ended.


	18. Aftermath With CDs

**Disclaimer: **_I love Erik to death, but sadly I don't own him. And another afterthought: Don't own Usher, Avalon, LOTR, or their music either. Wait, or R-E-S-P-E-C-T or Flashdance. USHER ROXX!_

**Sam**

**Ch. 17 – Aftermath With CDs**

Josie and Erik stood looking at each other for a minute, then he spun on Kayla, his voice harsh again.

"Did you not have Mozart all along?"

"You got it," she said, grinning.

He advanced on her slowly. "So you play the best – _my best _– composition ever?"

Kayla sighed in a mock-swoon. "It was _so_ worth it, though."

Erik stiffened, and he and Josie both blushed.

Kendall giggled at the look on Josie's face. She put her hands together and bowed and said like a Chinese person: "He teach you well, young grasshopper."

Kayla joined in with a quote from the book. "The grasshopper hops jolly high!"

We all (excepting Erik of course) cracked up. He gave a wry smirk and actually sat down on the edge of the bed.

"So if you don't listen to Mozart or Beethoven in your time," he gestured toward the laptop, "what do you listen to?"

"Well, that depends," I said. "There are so many different genres of music in our time."

"_Par example?"_

"Let's see… We listen to stuff like country and Christian and pop, and rock, and rap…"

"Speak for yourself," Kayla muttered.

"And then there's punk and metal and alternative and all the stuff the rebel kids listen to," Kendall put in.

"In ten words or less, the trash you had on when I came in?" Erik suggested with another smirk.

"Watch yourself, monsieur," Josie lightly slapped his uncovered cheek.

He stared at her in amazement.

"Don't call it trash, then," she said in response to his look.

Kayla giggled. "Well, I listen to all kinds of stuff. Actually, I think we all have pretty wide ranges." She glanced at the girls. "I mean, think about it. A little R&B, some rock and pop, Christian, and of course my one love, SOUNDTRAXX!"

"Down, girl," I said, swiping the laptop from her. "Do you have iTunes on this thing?"

She rolled her eyes. "What kind of question is that? 'Do I have iTunes?' That's like asking if you have a cell phone. Dur!"

"Reahr," I muttered, clicking around. "So what torture shall we subject His Highness to first?"

Erik glared at me, and Kendall pulled out a CD. I put it in and 'R-E-S-P-E-C-T' blared from the little speakers.

She and Josie cracked up laughing at the look on Erik's face. "What is _that_?"

"It's called 'Respect'," said Josie, "and it's our favorite duet from the karaoke machine."

Another song came on that I didn't know. Kendall sang through it, Kayla and Josie picking up on parts along the way.

"Joy to the World," they said when it was over.

"Otherwise known as 'Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog," Josie added.

I clicked on a different track. "Okay, whatever. Here goes nothing."

_Peace up, A-town down_

"Awww, _yeah_!"

Kayla and I laughed as _Yeah!_ came on, first because of the memories, and second because of the look on Erik's face. He was frozen again, and stayed that way through the entire song.

I passed the laptop to Josie when _Yeah!_ was over, and Erik hissed, "No… more… of that."

"D'accord, d'accord," Josie soothed, flicking around. "Okay, this is better."

An acoustic guitar's strums filled the air, and Kayla asked, "Avalon?"

"Avallon?" Erik echoed. "There's a city in this one?"

We looked at him. "No, the group is Avalon, not Ava-yon or whatever you said," I replied.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Impertinent little…"

"Huh?" Real intelligent.

"_Rien_… Nothing."

**The next chapter's gonna be interesting, I'm giving a fellow fanfic writer a cameo whether she wants it or not, and I hope it's enjoyable. I had fun with this one, but it needed to end. Sorry, wait for the next one! **


	19. Adventures in Time: Intro'ing Technology

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Phantom of the Opera._

**Kendall**

**Ch. 18 – Adventures in Time: Introducing Technology**

Several hours later, all five of us were sprawled around the Louis-Philippe room. Kayla had gone through her entire stock of iTunes music and we had been through all the CDs. Erik actually looked comfortable, propped on the bed with a glass of wine in his hand.

Kayla glanced up at him and did a double take.

"Is there caffeine in wine?" she wondered, climbing up beside him and reaching for it.

He slapped her hand away. "I doubt it."

"Then why do you drink it if it doesn't help you stay awake?"

Erik rolled his eyes. "Because it's all I have to drink."

Kayla's face lit up. "Can I have some?"

Sip. "I sincerely doubt you are of age, mademoiselle."

"_Sil vous plait?"_ she drew it out, reminding me of Simba and Nala from Lion King.

"Non."

She bounced off the bed in a huff and threw a discarded pillow at him, muttering, "Sheesh, I just wanted to see what you tasted like…"

Unfortunately (for Erik), he had just tossed back the rest of the glass. In a second, the white sheets were stained a deep crimson.

Josie, Sam and I burst out laughing. Erik was sitting bolt upright, his eyes wide, the glass forgotten on the floor.

"Come again?"

Kayla shrugged and hid a laugh. "Adi and Lauren and Naomi and I decided you taste like red wine."

I snorted. "The good part is, that actually makes sense for him."

Erik decided to sidestep his 'taste' for the moment.

"Who are Adi-and-Lauren-and-Naomi?"

Kayla grinned. "They're my Net buddies. We hang out on the computer and write stories about you and talk about you all the time."

Erik raised an eyebrow as she smacked herself in the forehead.

"And I need to check for updates!"

I stared at her. "Okay, I understand that you're random, but why now?"

She fake-pouted. "'Cause I wanna."

Rebooting the laptop, she logged onto and we were greeted by a happy squeal.

"Adi's on! I gotta tell her!"

Kayla clambered awkwardly onto the bed next to Erik, carefully balancing the computer in one hand. He snatched it away.

"Okay then," she grinned, "Go ahead… say hi to her, ask her if we really think—

"How does it work?" he interrupted, running a finger over the mouse.

In a few seconds, we were all on the bed and Kayla had pulled up an IM box with Silvermasque.

**(KKayla, AAdi)**

**K: OMG, you'll never guess**

**A?**

**K: guess where we are**

**A: umm… in ur house?**

**K: use your DBCA/Erik-induced imagination, Silvermasque…**

"What is that supposed to mean?" Erik pointed at the line.

Sam pulled his finger back. "You'll see."

**A: u're on a trip to Scotland, visiting Harry Potter castle?**

**K: try again**

**A: on a trip to Paris and u've just got back from spending the day in the Opera House where I wanna be? **

**K: close enough**

**K: but then, I don't think u'll believe me…**

**A: if I didn't kno better, I'd say u've sucked urself into a fic just to torture me…**

**A: have u been reading too much of _Mirror_ again?**

**K: maybe…**

**K: I'll let u talk to him; thank heaven u can't glomp people over the computer**

**A: wtf?**

**A: I don't glomp**

**A: I seduce :)**

Pause.

**A: OMG**

Kayla put the computer in Erik's lap.

"I know you watched," she said, "so say hello."

**K: Good evening, mademoiselle.**

**A: OK, I'm totally disregarding the fact that it's morning here**

"What does she mean, 'it's morning here'?" Erik asked.

"She's from Australia," we said together.

**A: what's he wearing? I need to see this**

Erik looked at us in disbelief. "She actually wants to know what I'm wearing?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "Um, _yeah_."

He frowned. "She makes it seem like I'm not wearing anything saying that."

We all fell face-first into the bed.

Josie came up first, gasping for breath. "Whatever you do," she whispered, "_don't_ say that to Adi."

Adi, however, began answering her own question.

**A: taking awhile to answer…**

**A: are u stripping him or something?**

We fell into the pillows again as Kayla ripped the laptop away from Erik.

**K: NO! how crazy are u?**

**K: do you think he'd even let us touch him?**

**K: seriously, Adi…**

**A: yeah, ur right**

**A: fantasies get in the way a lot**

**K: we've been down here for a few days**

**K: and we're thinking about bringing him back w/ us to present time**

**A: OMG, that's awesome!**

**A: gotta tell Misty and Naomi about that**

**A: lol **

**K: ok, ttyl**

**A: ERIK I LOVE YOU!**

**A: cheers**

Erik was silent as Kayla closed the box and clicked around, checking emails and story reviews.

After a moment, he asked, "When she put in 'Erik, I love you', what…?"

He looked so confused and upset that we all hugged him at once.

"Put it this way," said Kayla, "if anyone on that site says Erik I love you they really, sincerely, honest-to-Opera-Ghost mean it. There are all these girls who love you to death, Erik. We all think Raoul is a pretty-boy fop—

"Hey!" Josie and I protested.

"Except these two," she gestured at us.

"He stood up for his love," Josie declared. "He spared _your_ life," she pointed at him, "and he loved Christine more than anything!"

We stared at her.

"Let's just show him the DVD," Sam suggested.

"Good idea," I reached for it.

**So now Erik has seen his own novel, is about to see his DVD life, (including Gerry!) and has been intro'd to the internet. We're getting there, hopefully they'll come back to real time next chappie. R+R!**


	20. Adventures in Time: The Year 2005

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Phantom of the Opera. I own the four girls and any cameos for my friends who aren't a part of fanfiction. I don't own Adi or Naomi or anybody else._

**Erik**

**Ch. 19 – Adventures in Time: The Year 2005**

Sam brought a small silver screen out of her own bag. It looked similar to the laptop, but the screen was larger and there were no lettered keys.

Kendall passed her a plastic case facedown (I'm pretty sure that was on purpose) and out came wonder of wonders another CD.

"Again with the music?" I grumbled.

"Yes and no," Sam replied. "There's music _in _it. But there's also people talking in it."

This made no sense whatsoever.

"_Explanation, s'il vous plait."_

"It's a movie," said Kayla. "It's a picture that moves, and the people in the picture can talk and sing; it's like… like watching yourself do something. Especially you," she added, giggling.

What am I getting myself into this time?

I didn't have time to ponder the thought because Josie blew out all the candles in the room, Sam set the screen on a table at the end of the bed, and Kayla snuggled against my chest.

"No questions or outbursts until the end," Kendall instructed. "Agreed?"

"Yea," Kayla raised a hand. "Now GET ON WITH IT!"

A candle flickered on the screen, showing a calligraphy-scrawled title: The Phantom of the Opera.

What _is _this all about?

Wow. Thin Carlotta. But… Thank God! Someone dropped a set. Wait a minute…

"Why don't they show their face?" I asked.

Kayla looked up at me with the most pitying expression. "It's _you,_ dimwit. _Faites attention!_"

What in the world…?

"How can that be me? I'm here," I pointed out.

"PAUSE!" Kayla yelled, and we all jumped. She stared at me. "We said no interruptions for a reason, you know."

"But I'm _here_," I persisted.

"It's about your life, of course you're in it!" she exclaimed. "Now chill, we haven't even reached the good part yet."

End of the movie…

Kayla had snuggled into my chest with a ferocity that was only betrayed by the silent tears on her face. Josie sighed happily. And Sam and Kendall were both stretching.

"Let's do it again…" Sam yawned.

"I second," Kayla said hoarsely. All of them had sung along to the songs perfectly. This had actually amazed me more than finding out that I knew all of them myself. The man who had 'played' me, as they said, did a very good job in my opinion.

"He's sooo hott," Kayla slumped against me, and I looked for the others' reactions.

"She just passed out," said Josie, rushing over. "I can't believe she actually passed out."

"Does this happen often when you watch the movie?" I asked.

She glanced up at me. "Actually, it's never happened before. It's kind of freaky."

Suddenly, Kayla sat up with a gasp. She turned to me, eyes wide.

"Pinch me," she said.

"What?"

"Pinch me. Am I dreaming all this or not?"

"No, you're not dreaming, and I won't hurt you," I replied coolly.

"Awesome! That means I really passed out this time!" she hopped off the bed.

"Where are you going?" I demanded. "You might be sick or something!"

She smirked. "Yeah right. Let's go!"

"Where?"

Her face fell. "Are you that dense? We need to go home, and you're coming with us!"

That caught my attention. "How?"

"Back through the mirror, the way we came!"

I looked around at them, all with their bags ready to go, hopeful looks on their faces. "Erik, please? You can meet all our friends and everything! It'll be so much fun!"

"Are you sure they'd welcome me?" I asked pointedly. "If everyone in your time dresses as you do, I'd seem… out of place, no?"

They shrugged. "We won't care," Josie coaxed.

How does this happen to me?

"Fine, let's go."

When we arrived at the mirror, Kendall went first.

"I need to see what time it is," she whispered, "to see if anyone's still up."

"You realize you've been down here for two days?" I interjected. "Won't they have missed you by now?"

Shock covered their faces.

"Oh my gosh, you're right!" Josie cried. "Now what do we do?"

They stood and looked at each other.

"Girls, this isn't going to help," I pointed out. "We need to do something."

"You're right," said Kayla.

And she stepped through the mirror first.

We waited for a few minutes, and she returned with a slightly puzzled grin on her face.

"What's up?" asked Josie anxiously.

"You're not gonna believe this," said Kayla, "but _no time_ has passed since the other night when we first came down here. It's 9:32 PM, and I'm betting it's still Thursday night."

"Are you serious?" squealed Sam. "This rocks!"

"Shall we move before continuing your celebration?" I suggested. "It's more than a little cramped in here." I shoved Sam out of the mirror ahead of us.

Once we were all in Kendall's bedroom, I looked around. The walls were bright, there was a rather large bed with a few chairs, a computer larger than Kayla's on the desk, and…

Something caught on the hem of my opera cloak, and I at first thought it had snagged on the door frame. But when I turned around, there was a snow-white kitten with her claws sank in the material.

"Ah mon Dieu," I whispered, hardly daring to believe it. I picked her up gently and she nestled in the palm of my hand.

"That's Angel," said Kendall, coming over to scratch the kitten's ears. "She's my kitty."

"She's beautiful," I said, stroking the kitten's fur.

"We have two more," she added. "Chloe and Ringo."

I raised an eyebrow at this. "Interesting names."

She shrugged. "My mom and brother named them."

Sam bounced over. "What are we gonna do? It's only 9:30, after all. We have all night still left!"

**We'll see what happens. One of the coming chapters is gonna be cameo-city, and I've already got three lined up for some friends of mine at school and church. Let me know if you want one, I'd love to do it!**

**PS: The bit with Angel was inspired by _Phantom_, by Susan Kay (the part about Ayesha, of course! )**


	21. Adventures in Time: Cars & Clothes

**Disclaimer:** _I don't own the Phantom of the Opera. Seeing as how the girls came out of my weirdly twisted imagination, they belong to me… and the real friends they're modeled after, I guess…_

**Kayla**

**Ch. 20 – Adventures in Time: Cars and Clothes**

_Sam bounced over. "What are we gonna do? It's only 9:30, after all. We have all night still left!"_

I grabbed Sam by the shoulders to stop her bouncing.

"Slow down and think about it," I said.

"Huh?"

I rolled my eyes. "It's not gonna be the best thing in the world if Kendall's parents wake up and Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Murderous is in her room with us."

I eyed him. "Especially dressed like that."

Erik snorted. "At least I dress with some measure of modesty."

"Butt out, Erik," Sam glared at him.

"Take it easy," said Josie, biting back a laugh from Erik's comment.

"What are we going to do since he can't stay here?" Kendall asked.

"It's… coming to me," I whispered, closing my eyes and acting like one of those TV psychics.

"Eureka moment!"

"Thank the Lord," said Josie. "Let's hear it."

"We drove, so why not head back to our place?" I indicated Sam and myself.

"What about them waking up and none of us being here?" Sam pointed out.

"Leave a note saying we went out for pizza or something."

She stared at me. "It's quarter till ten!"

I stared back. "We're teenagers. It's what we do."

"That'll have to work," said Josie, stepping between us. "Especially since none of us really unpacked. Let's go!"

Ten minutes later, we had piled our stuff into the trunk and were trying to explain to Erik what a car was.

"That _thing_ is a metal monstrosity!" he swore.

"Erik, calm down. It's one of your taxis without horses, that's all." I grinned. "And it has heat."

This seemed to interest him, so we were finally able to get going.

It was hard to keep my eyes on the road with all of Erik's questions.

"Why is this road smooth?"

"It's made of cement, not cobblestone."

"_Intéressant_… Why are there different types of taxis out here?" Of course, he had the window seat.

"There are all different kinds of cars," Sam giggled. "There's trucks," she pointed as a red pickup sped past, "and SUVs," a Durango pulled up behind us at a stoplight, "and smaller cars, just like this." She indicated the interior of my Neon.

I glanced at the rearview mirror in time to see Erik shifting uncomfortably against the window. He, Josie and Sam were crammed into the backseat without much room.

"Hang in there, guys," I chuckled. "We're almost there."

I pulled into the allotment and slammed on the brake to avoid a rabbit. Erik threw a skeletal hand into the back of my headrest and cursed.

"Everybody okay back there?" Kendall turned in her seat.

"_Non, ça ne va pas ici,"_ he spat.

"Would you rather me have killed the bunny?" I flashed him a glare in the mirror.

He debated for a moment, then sat back. _"Allons."_

I pulled up the driveway and into our garage. It was 10:15.

"Everybody be really quiet," I cautioned as we slid out of the car.

"Mom and Dad are probably still up, so I'll go in first…"

I slipped in the door.

"Kayla?" I heard my mom call.

"Yeah?"

"Why are you home? Aren't you having a sleepover at Kendall's?"

"We decided to hang out over here, that's all. We'll stay upstairs and be quiet, okay? I swear my room's clean enough."

"…Fine."

I sighed in relief and opened the door to let the others in.

Erik, being the master of shadows as he is, slipped down the side hall and flew up the stairs silent as… well, a ghost.

Sam, Kendall, Josie and I took the long way around – we went through the family room where my mom was watching TV, said hellos and ran upstairs (not nearly as quiet as Erik though).

Luckily he had ducked into the proper bedroom; Sam's hanging beads would have betrayed him, and the master bedroom's door was closed.

"Hi, Dad," I called as we passed.

A muffled grunt issued from under the door; he goes to bed early.

We bounced on the bed as Erik draped himself over my computer chair.

"That was the best cover-up we've ever pulled," Josie giggled, clapping her hands.

"This time there was something a lot bigger at stake," I pointed out.

Erik was taking in the bedroom. I had a whole wall devoted to Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, then a wall for the Broadway production of The Lion King, and pictures of Phantom everywhere. These interested him the most; his gaze shifted to each poster in turn, analyzing the costuming, colors, facial expressions, and the actors themselves.

I pulled out the Leroux novel and tossed it to him. "You can read now, but this was the original version. Tell us how similar it is when you're done, okay?"

He nodded, already three pages into the book.

"Shouldn't we get ready for bed?" Kendall asked. "Your mom checks on us more than mine does."

"Yeah, probably. Nothing says we can't stay up later, but it'll be easier this way," I stood up and looked at Erik.

His turquoise gaze had snapped to us at the mention of preparing for bed, and it made me a little nervous. (Come on, he _is_ the Phantom of the Opera. Cat-eye-sight.)

"Erik, go read in Sam's bedroom for a few minutes. We'll… come get you when it's safe again." I'd been about to say 'call you' but that would've made for a few awkward questions on my mom's part.

He swept out of the room, book still firmly clenched in his hand.

After we'd changed into sleep attire (jammy pants and a comfortable top), Sam pushed me toward her door. I fingered the beads and she yelled down the stairs, "Mom, Kayla's in my room!"

The door flew open and Erik loomed over me. "It's okay, come on," I whispered, seizing his wrist as my mom called vaguely, "Kayla, get out of Sam's room."

The feeling of him watching me as we moved back to my room was more than a little uncomfortable.

I turned on him after closing the door again. "What is there to look at?"

His turquoise gaze never left my face. "You _sleep_ in something so scandalous?"

I glanced down and saw that I had pulled on a black camisole. "It's comfortable," I retorted. "Unlike anything the women in your time wear."

"_Oui_, but at least they are not so…" he gave me a once-over. "Controversial."

I snorted with laughter as I threw open the closet and dragged out my black satin cape. "How's this, then?"

His eyes brightened as I swirled it around.

"Not as good as yours, of course, but it's mine."

Sam had her DVD player set up on the bed. "What are we gonna watch now?"

Erik rolled his eyes. "Again?"

"Pirates of the Caribbean!" said Kendall.

"Yeah, I haven't seen that in forever," I agreed, glancing at the back of my door (enormous Jack Sparrow poster). "Neeeeedddd… Joooohhhnnnyyy… Orlaaaanndddoo…"

We laughed as Erik settled himself on the chair again.

"Oh, and Erik," I said as I dimmed the light, "When Mom comes up later to check on us, could you conveniently slip back to the corner?" I indicated the space for him; darkened by shadows and not visible from the door.

He nodded as the movie began, eyes flying over the book pages again.

**I didn't want something to happen between Erik and Kayla, but I couldn't resist putting that little piece in. She's my character, sue me. Total Chaos and Cameo-ness begins next chapter, so get the information in soon! I already have a lot of my friends from school in it, so this'll probably take two chapters. All I really need to know is a costume (it's a masked-ball-costume-party-thing) and maybe an accessory (i.e., staff, sword, etc.). Think modern Masquerade, guys. I've got a vampire, a Gothic princess, Arwen (LOTR), a wood nymph, a sorceress, and an angel so far. You can use any idea within reason (nothing too inappropriate, you know the drill). And I want details! (i.e., sorceress costume purple velvet w/ cape, full skirt and low-cut neckline with a hole for showing off a belly button piercing.)**

**As you can tell, you can't use the sorceress costume aforementioned, it's for one of my friends.**


	22. Cameo Rules

**Chapter 21 – Cameo Rules**

Okay, so it's not a real chapter, but here we go with the stats: This is the first cameo chapter I've ever attempted to write, so bear with me if it takes longer to post.

**Information I need from you:**

hair color

costume see () below – something you would wear to a modern masquerade/costume party/thing.

I get your names in reviews anyway, so that's covered

And anything else you feel like throwing in

See the footnote from last chapter for anything I'm forgetting

** Costumes: Need to be detailed, and nothing too off-the-wall, I'm begging. If that's really what you want, okay, but most of us are princesses, sorcerers, elves and the like. My character (Kayla) is going as Aminta/gypsy. I really hope you all are creative, I love writing when there's good costumes!**

**PS: I'm planning on doing another cameo chapter later in the story, just a heads-up on that.**

_**Phantomfreak07**_


	23. Preparations

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Phantom of the Opera. I am only responsible for my characters and the ginormous party-dance next chapter._

**A/N: Thank you all for the wonderful reviews, but I've decided to organize the party for _next _chapter instead of this one. I'm sorry! I just realized that I had an entire day to get through first – I set up the weirdest timelines lol. **

**Josie**

**Chapter 22 – Preparations**

I woke up very slowly the next morning. My eyes were glued shut and I was so warm that for a second I felt delirious. I reached blindly to pull the blankets up further and felt a soft, heavy covering.

_Cashmere?_

My eyes shot open and I sat bolt upright. _Erik's cape_ fell back from my shoulders and I noticed that he was still occupying Kayla's desk chair, now absorbed in the _Chronicles of Narnia_. (Squee, right?)

"How did this get on us?" I asked, my voice croaky with sleep.

He looked up for the first time. "When that movie was over, you'd all fallen asleep." Erik glanced at the light snow outside. _"Et il faisait froid."_

(It was cold )

I shrugged and shook the others awake.

Kendall yawned. "What time is it?"

"Ten."

"Why are we up so _early_?" Sam complained, flopping back down.

Erik rolled his eyes behind the book, but said nothing.

Kayla glared at her sister. "It's a good thing we woke up before eleven," she retorted. "We have to get ready for tonight."

Erik looked up from _Narnia_ at her last statement, decided it was fruitless, and set the book aside. "Forgive me for asking, but what are you 'getting ready' for tonight that would take all day?"

Kendall gave Kayla a light slap. "We never… no, _you_ never told him!"

"There's a costume party tonight," I said. "All our friends are going, it'll be awesome!"

Erik looked slightly alarmed. "What shall _I _do?"

Kayla smiled evilly. "You're coming too, _idiot._"

He raised the eyebrow we could see. "You expect me to go to… _une fête ou une mascarade_ dressed like this?"

He stood and spread his arms (as if we needed reminding of what he wore.)

Kayla's eyes sparkled mischievously. "Heck no. Hang on…" she turned and opened the closet. Turning back to us, she had a short dark jacket, tight-looking pants and a ruffled shirt on a hanger.

Erik's and my jaws dropped. "Where did you get that?" we asked in unison.

Kayla was practically on the floor laughing at our expressions. She sucked a breath. "That was priceless. Oh, man… Anyway, Erik, I got it last night before we left. Your Red Death costume just wouldn't do. _Je suis désolée."_

Erik drew himself up to full height, towering over us. "_Le Mort Rouge_ is my only _mascarade_ costume! Why, of all my ensembles, did you not bring it?"

"Everyone sort of… well, pairs up at the dance, _si vous comprenez._"

"And?"

"Well… Red Death can't really have a partner."

It took him a moment to fully realize what she was saying, then he glanced around at us.

"And what, pray tell, are you all wearing?" he growled.

"I'm a princess." –Kendall

"I'm an angel." –Sam

"I'm a Spanish dancer." –Me

"I'm… a gypsy." –Kayla

Erik hissed a slow breath. "Who are you expecting me to…" he broke off, his eyes locked on Kayla in disbelieving comprehension.

She smiled, and Sam yanked the bedroom door open.

"I'm starving, let's eat!"

We all rolled our eyes, but followed her downstairs.

In fifteen minutes, we were sprawled around the family room. Erik looked at our plates in disgust. "What is that?"

"Don't they smell good?" Sam tried to waft hers toward him.

Erik privately agreed, but he wasn't about to say anything.

"Try some." Kayla offered him her fork.

Very reluctantly, he took it.

We burst out laughing as his face changed from reluctance to utterly ecstatic.

"What in heaven's name is it?"

"Waffles," said Sam. "Made by _moi._"

We finished eating (now aided by Erik) and raced back upstairs.

"I'm glad all our outfits fit in our bags," I said. "Otherwise we never would've gotten over here."

"And to think we were bummed," Kayla added, "about not going. Remember, before we found out no time had passed?"

"What do you mean?" Erik asked from behind us.

"Well…" she faltered. "See, when we were down there with you, and when we remembered the party, that's why we freaked."

"_Pardonne?"_

"That's why we got upset," I translated.

Kayla nodded. "But now we get the best of both worlds. Thanks for coming." She smiled at him.

"Not to be one breaking up tender moments," Sam interrupted, "but it's noon. We don't have all day here."

She ended up being more right than I thought.

"I get my costume first!" I called, snatching my bag and heading for Sam's room.

I was so excited about this costume. My brother had talked me into being a rebel Spanish dancer, and it was gonna be awesome. The black bohemian skirt flared every time I moved (which was wonderful in itself) and I had a hot pink tank top under a shrunken black tie-sweater. Silver sequins accented the skirt hem and lower edge of the top. It was _très chic. _Kayla gave me a hand with the black stiletto boots and stepped back to admire the ensemble.

"Very you," she said.

"What did you expect?" I asked, tying my bathrobe over the outfit.

"Well, at first you were going to be Maria from West Side Story…"

I snorted. "White is for babies."

She giggled and I went to apply mascara and lipstick.

Erik watched me from the chair in Kayla's room. "You're wearing that?" he gestured disdainfully at the robe, and I gave him a Look.

"The question is, 'Would anyone want to dance with me if I wore this'," I retorted. "And of course not; but you can't see the dress until we're ready to go."

Kendall came in. "How should we do your hair?"

I played with it. "How about totally straight?"

She nodded and we set to work.

A few minutes later, Sam came in dressed similarly to me. "Kendall, Kayla's ready to do your costume," she informed her. "And then she needs a little help with hers."

"Finally!" Kendall laughed.

"So how are we going to do _your_ hair?" I asked Sam.

"I need to curl the ends," she replied, digging through a lower cabinet.

"Oh yes," I agreed. "You can't be an angel without curled hair."

"Shut up," she said good-naturedly, resurfacing with the curling iron.

"You're on your own if that's all there is to do," I said, going back to makeup.

Some eyeliner, eye shadow, mascara, and a coat of red lipstick later, Kendall came in. "Josie, are you done?"

I nodded, and she gestured toward Sam's closed bedroom door. "Kayla needs you."

I glanced in Kayla's room as I passed; Erik was buried in the _Chronicles_ again.

"Y'know, Erik, you're gonna have to get dressed sometime," I called.

"_Quelle heure…_when does this _fete_ start?"

"Around ten."

"_Donc,_ I will wait however long I wish."

"No you don't!" Kayla yelled. "The Neon leaves at ten till ten! If I have to dress you myself, I will!"

I shut my eyes. "_Way_ too much information! Kayla, there _is_ a child in the house!"

Sam rolled her eyes.

"Fine…" Kayla was tying the wrap of her dress.

Suddenly, _Yeah! _started playing again.

"Erik!" we yelled. "Are you messing around with the laptop again?"

"_Non, je lis_."

(I'm reading.)

"Oh!" Sam raced into the room and started digging frantically through her bag.

I rolled my eyes. Her ringtone was _Yeah!_

"Hello? Hey, Dominic…" My gaze met Kayla's. Why was _he _calling?

"Sure, Kayla's giving us all a ride. I'll see you there, okay? …What are you going to be? …Come on, tell me… How am I supposed to find you?... Fine, we'll see you there… Later!"

"_Qui est Dominic?" _Erik, of course.

"He's… a friend," she said evasively.

"Don't ask, Erik," Kayla called.

I lent her some light gold eye shadow and sat on her bed as I waited for her to curl her hair and apply extra makeup.

Kendall finished her hair and flopped down on the bed.

"Oh-my-gosh, it's so cute!" I cried.

She had pulled her hair back in a bun, and the loose bangs hung gracefully around her eyes.

Sam rebooted Kayla's laptop. "We've got a few hours to kill—

"_Répètez?" _Erik's one problem: his vocabulary needs an update.

"We're early," said Kendall.

"Ah, _merci."_ Then again, gentleman is nice.

He ran a skeletal finger down the bookcase until his eyes lit up. "_Le Comte de Monte Cristo…"_

"_Oui, _go ahead," said Kayla, pulling her hair up on one side.

"Hold on, girl." I hopped off the bed and picked up a large rose from her dresser. We clipped it in her hair, and I stepped back to admire the effect. "That's hot."

She giggled and glanced at Erik, who hastily looked back at the book pages.

Thank God she didn't try to press the issue with him.

We played around online until 8:30, when Kayla finally dragged Erik away from the novel.

"Take your time with getting ready. You've got a half-hour all to yourself," she said.

He just nodded, resigned to this fate.

In the space of that half-hour, we ended up emailing everyone to make sure they were still coming. (No small feat considering the ever-growing cameo list. )

"**ERIK!"**

Kayla stood at the door, screaming her lungs out.

"Did it occur to you that perhaps I've changed my mind?" his voice floated through the walls.

"Did it occur to _you_ that a muse can't change their mind?" she retorted, turning away in frustration. "Man, as soon as people said they were bringing muses, I knew I should've gotten Zorro instead."

The door flew open and Don Juan towered over her.

Kayla turned around and practically melted.

"Then again, maybe not…"

The next fifteen minutes was promptly spent in a stare-down between them.

Sam's cell phone beeped and Kayla blinked.

"No fair! Do-over!"

Erik smirked. "Later, _ma chèrie."_

It was so easy to put on our coats without him seeing that it felt a little depressing. (Oh well )

We ran downstairs and got our coats on as Kayla chatted and stalled Erik, then I came up to 'pretend' to drag him downstairs as Kayla raced ahead to do the same.

Of course, this means he will wait until next chapter to see our costumes.

His glare could have frozen fire, I swear…

**Sorry about all the fluff, but my timelines are wacked and I realized I had a whole day to go through first. Hope it was enjoyable, cameos start next chapter!**


	24. CameoCostumeGuest List

**Cameo/Costume/Guest List**

**A/N: For everyone's sake, I hope you all remember your cameo names! I'm putting this up to make it easier to read the cameo chapters. Refer back to it to see who people are, what they're dressed as, or to remind yourself who _you_ are supposed to be.**

**Kayla – Aminta**

**Josie – Spanish dancer**

**Kendall – Princess (Meg's white Masquerade dress)**

**Sam – Angel**

**Maria – Cheetah Girl (Dorinda)**

**Faith – Sorceress**

**Julia – Gothic princess**

**Kennedy – Vampiress**

**Riley – Princess (burgundy)**

**Isabella – Princess (pink, Christine's Masquerade)**

**Jess – Princess (white w/ red Masquerade)**

**Ralena – Wood nymph**

**Charlie Quill – Water nymph (w/ Secret Window Johnny)**

**ErikandChristine – Moon goddess**

**Miranda – Gypsy**

**Adi – Pirate Queen**

**Andrea – Phantomess**

**Sophie – Arwen (w/ Aragorn)**

**Alexandra – Quidditch player**

**Ava – Fugitive**

**David – Knight**

**Alan – Himself**

**Steve – Legend of Zelda elf**

**Dominic – Phantom**

**Viggo (NOT Aragorn!) – DJ/Rapper**

**A/N: For my faithful net reviewers, a lot of these are people from school who asked to be in it; I tried to draw on what I know of everyone, especially your styles of writing, to sort of create these characters. **

**A/N 2: It's going to take awhile before I post the cameo chapters; it's going to take 2 chapters, and I want to write/post them at the same time. Hang in there!**

**Phantomfreak07**


	25. Modern Masquerade

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own the Phantom, goshdarnit!_

**FINALLY, right? Yeah, I know it's been awhile, but it needs to be good! Hope you like it, I think I corrected and added everything I needed. Enjoy!**

**A/N: These chapters are divided into POVs between the five main characters, instead of one person telling everything as in past chapters.**

**Chapter 23 – Modern Masquerade**

**Sam**

We pulled our coats close as we moved up the driveway to David's house. It was _dark_ and _windy_ and _cold_, but… hey, that's winter in Ohio for ya.

Erik stopped to give the place a once-over before we got to the door.

"This is a house?" he asked critically.

"What's it look like?" I bit back from under my scarf.

"_Un château."_

I heard Josie gasp and we all looked up at the house. Erik was right – it looked like some sort of castle!

"I wondered where this was going to be when we passed his allotment," she said.

"So this isn't his house?" I asked.

Kayla laughed. "How d'you have a costume party for around thirty people in a two-story house and still have room for dancing?"

I sighed. "How'd you guys get this place, then?"

"It's a plot device/rental."

It takes a little getting used to, all this fanfiction stuff…

Kayla knocked on the door and it was immediately opened by a knight in (rusting) silver armor.

"Um, David, I think the phrase is 'knight in _shining_ armor'," Kendall giggled.

He gave her a wide-eyed stare and declared in a false British accent, "Ah, but I am no ordinary knight!"

"Monty Python?" Kayla guessed.

He glared at her. "I am a knight-who-will-take-over-the-world!" he cried, brandishing his sword at the ceiling.

"Good luck with that," Josie muttered. "At least it saves us from your perverted side for the evening."

He grinned evilly. "Don't bet on it… Hey, wasn't there somebody else?"

We turned. Erik had disappeared.

Kayla sighed. "I'll find him, eventually."

David headed for the stairs. "Well, everyone's down here, whenever you want to make an entrance."

I sighed with excitement as we hung our coats in a side closet. "I'm going to—

I was cut off by a firm grip on my elbow. I almost screamed when I saw that it was Erik. _"What?"_

He eyed me. "You will wait here until your escort comes."

My eyebrows disappeared into my bangs and I wrenched my sleeve from his grasp. "Sorry, that's too nineteenth-century for me. Catch you all later."

I fled downstairs before Erik could follow me.

**Josie**

All three of us had to grab Erik to stop him going after Sam.

"Erik, she's right," I said. "This century isn't exactly known for gentlemen and flowing skirts." I glanced at the steps in longing. "I need to find Alan, too…"

I could sense raised eyebrows behind his mask, but I held him back long enough for Kendall to slip past.

"I'll let you meet him when I find him," she said, adjusting her tiara. "Unless I don't find him and end up with David…"

I smiled. She hadn't told any of us who her date was.

"I can't take this anymore! I'll see you two down there, but don't take forever." I raced after Kendall.

**Kendall**

My initial reaction to the ballroom was stunned amazement. There were so many people (girls, really) everywhere, but I saw Julia and Kennedy at the punch table first. Julia's Gothic princess costume looked like something out of a Dracula movie: a high spiked collar around her head, almost like a hood, and long flowy sleeves, but I recognized her rebel side in the flames licking the hem of the dress.

Kennedy's mouth was dripping red.

"What are you guys doing?" I gestured to the table, where each of them had poured at least five cups of punch.

"We're drinking blood and looking gruesome!" said Julia, raising a glass triumphantly. "You can be Dracula's bride."

"No thanks." I moved toward the little round tables at the back of the room. _Where was he?_

**Kayla**

"Shall we enter, my dear?"

"Erik I'm warning you, _don't_ get all 'Point of No Return' on me."

He chuckled. "Is that not what you want?"

I forced myself to think of something other than how gorgeous he was. (Easier said than done, right?)

"Listen for a sec, will you? There's going to be so many girls who want to attack you it's not even funny."

"What is the point of this party?"

I shrugged. "We're all friends; sometimes we have parties just to have parties."

"Do you always dress up?"

"What is this, twenty questions? Let's go already!"

I grabbed his arm and we moved to the staircase.

I could see everyone from the stairs. Adi and Jess were chatting with Temani at one of the tables; Sophie was glued to a man's side who looked extremely like Aragorn and was talking to Faith, and it looked like Kendall had run into Julia and Kennedy.

"Let's do this thing."

He gave me a sideways glance and we proceeded down the steps. It was total deja-vu. I felt like I was part of Erik's greatest masquerade entrance, when he was Red Death. He exuded total confidence and an air of complete superiority. I barely realized that everyone had gathered at the foot of the staircase when Erik purred, "_Why so silent, good mam'selles?"_

All the girls melted. Erik owned the crowd, and he knew it.

Adi pushed past Miranda and Andrea. "What took you so long?"

Sam smirked. "They were making a 'fashionably late entrance'."

Adi looked Erik up and down. "Well, it certainly is fashionable."

A squee of agreement erupted from Miranda, Riley and Isabella, and I stepped in front of Erik. "No glomping allowed!" I said sternly.

Sounds of dismay echoed, and a few voices asked, "Why not?"

I rolled my eyes. "You can't attack someone who's unarmed. That's one of the basic rules of combat."

Adi nodded. "She's right, girls."

As they turned away, I saw a gleam in her eye, and she whispered as she passed, "Besides, you know my rule. I don't glomp, I seduce."

**Josie**

All the fuss over Erik had died down and I still hadn't found Alan. That made me start to panic, and I wondered if he had even shown up. Erik slipped up behind me.

"So there _is_ someone?" he purred, eyeing me sarcastically.

"Erik, _not now,_ it's not the best time to get on my nerves."

"Is that him, there?" He pointed at a figure leaning against one of the hall's marble pillars.

"You idiot, don't point!" I twisted his arm back. "Okay, so maybe it is."

The thing is, we (Alan and I) are perfect for each other. He's drummer, I'm lead guitar in our band 'Not of This World', and we've been really good friends for some time. (Classic case of 'girl-falls-for-her-guy-best-friend'.) What Erik didn't know is that our bass player, Shayna, had hinted to Alan that I was interested. Hence, he had ignored me all week, sinking me into depression.

Erik smirked, snapping me back to reality. "Then go to him."

"_What?_ No!"

"But why stop fate?"

_Now he's getting all philosopher on me._ I groaned. "I'm not stopping fate, just… delaying it. And anyway, that's not the point…" But he was off through the crowd.

"_Mauvais crapaud," _I muttered, racing after him.

It seemed like just as I reached out to grab his cloak he disappeared, leaving me two steps away from Alan. I turned to walk away nonchalantly, but a warm hand and a deep voice stopped me. "Josie!"

I turned around. "Is everything okay? …Are you mad at me? I mean—

He clamped a hand over my mouth.

"Let me try and say this," he whispered, "I need to know."

I nodded. "What is it?"

He gazed at me. "I love you."

I swallowed to control the tears at the corners of my eyes. "I love you too." I couldn't think.

Then he kissed me. On the lips, neither of us caring who was watching. It felt like an eternity that I was locked with him in that embrace.

Finally, he took my hand. "Come on, I brought the instruments so we can show them some _real_ music."

I laughed, and I glanced to the left to see Erik in the shadows, his eyes gleaming. He smiled and nodded slowly as the first six bars of the _Phantom_ overture made everyone else race to the floor, partnered or not. He slipped around a pillar, I assumed to seek out Kayla, and I thought no more of him.

**Erik**

Predictable?

_Oui._

But perfect?

_Oui aussi._

After a minute, Kayla urged me to go dance with the other girls.

"I came with you," I protested.

"Yes, but they all want to dance with you too," she pointed out. "Besides, if you came with me, then all it means is that you have to leave with me. You can dance with whoever you want while you're here."

That clicked in my brain, and I disappeared from her side.

I took the hand of a girl who wore a dress like Christine's Masquerade gown, but white and red. She gasped, then smiled as we revolved on the spot. I could see in her eyes that this was what she'd always dreamed of.

"What is your name?"

"Jess."

I pressed a kiss to her hand. "_Merci, mademoiselle."_

I spun away before she knew what happened.

"Can you sing?" I asked a girl with a deep burgundy gown.

"_Je m'appelle_Riley," she said, her eyes lighting up. "And of course, monsieur."

_Those who have seen your face_

_Draw back in fear_

_I am the mask you wear_

"It's me you hear…"

I moved close, kissed her cheek and disappeared.

The next girl I spun around was dressed in a replica of Christine's pink Masquerade gown.

"You look beautiful, _ma chérie."_

She blushed. "Thank you so much. I'm Isabella."

"A beautiful name as well." I smiled and moved away.

A small vampiress took my hand. "Dance with me?"

"Of course, mademoiselle…?"

"Kennedy," she smiled. "You're a really good dancer."

An elf tugged at her elbow. "Kennedy, come on—

"No, Steve," she wrenched out of his grip and back into my arms.

He persisted in trying to take her away, and I held his shoulder in a death grip.

"She said 'no'," I growled. We stared into each other's eyes for a second before he backed away.

Kennedy gave me a grateful look. "He's a little annoying, but he's a good friend."

After a few more minutes, I caught her looking wistfully after him.

"Shall I leave you to deal with him?"

An evil smirk crossed her face. "I suppose…"

I moved back to dance with a beautiful little moon goddess who sparkled like the stars themselves. Her long, flowing violet skirt was edged in silver swirls and melded smoothly into a deep blue top with silver stars.

"This is probably the first party you've been to, right?"

I nodded.

"Hope it's a night you remember. It definitely is for me."

The music faded out as she left me to my thoughts.

**Viggo**

Most of these girls are totally into Phantom of the Opera. Don't get me wrong, it's cool, but I like being able to mix things up a bit. Kayla told me earlier that pretty much anything was fair game, but she had several very specific requests. (Seeing as how she hired me, it's all good.)

So here we go with _another_ musical…

**Josie**

Oh my Lord. What is this, musical night? Next he'll be playing something from _Rent_. But seriously, _West Side Story_ is awesome. I saw Kayla across from David when we lined up (that's the best way to dance to something like _America_) but Erik was nowhere in sight. I dismissed the thought as Sophie and Aragorn came to stand next to me and Alan.

"I haven't seen much Lord of the Rings, but," I gestured toward him and looked at Sophie, "_how_ did you bring him?"

She laughed. "I pulled him out of _Fellowship_, the same way what's-her-face pulled Johnny Depp out of _Secret Window_."

She nodded contemptuously down the line, where Charlie Quill (aka water nymph) was dancing with her muse.

I groaned in exasperation as we spun around. "Sophie, for heaven's sake, kiss _him_ and get over it already." I indicated Aragorn. She didn't need telling twice. My jaw dropped as she pressed her lips to his and melted in his arms.

**Sam**

When _America_ was over (I'd found Maria and the song had made us both totally hyper) I stood back to admire her costume. Maria _loves_ the Cheetah Girls, and she had dressed like Dorinda. Everything was there: the printed skirt, the fishnet sleeves, and her white fuzzy hat.

"Nice choice," I commented.

She nodded enthusiastically. "How many people do you know here?"

"Not too many," I admitted. "Have you seen Dominic?"

"No, what's he dressed as? I see Strider (Aragorn), a knight, an elf, Johnny Depp… is that him, dancing with Josie?"

I spun around. "She wouldn't be caught _dead_ dancing with him. That's her boyfriend, Alan."

"Oh. Then no, I haven't seen him."

We set off through the crowd. I spotted Isabella with a dreamy look in her eyes. "What happened to you?"

"This is the best night ever," she said. "I can't believe he danced with me."

"Who?"

"Erik."

Maria gave me a confused look. "What?"

I dragged her away from Isabella. "Erik, you dork! Phantom-Erik!"

Her eyes lit up. "Where is he?"

"I was hoping you could tell me." Kayla had come up behind us. "Oh, no…"

I turned. _"Dominic?"_

He was dressed as (what else?) the Phantom.

"Dom, I _did_ want you to meet him," she said, "but now I'm afraid of what'll happen if he even lays eyes on you."

He didn't listen to her. "Sam, I've been looking for you everywhere, come on!"

He grabbed my hand as a bit of the Harry Potter soundtrack came on.

"Okay…"

**Erik**

I paced between the back tables, torn between finding one of the girls (and getting myself mobbed in the process) or staying put. I was dragged out of this stupor of thought by two nymphs sitting at a corner table. _Why weren't they dancing?_ I crept closer to hear what they were saying.

A wood nymph dressed in green and brown was surveying the crowd with open disdain. "I can't believe how many princesses there are. We're in high school, you'd think they could be a _little_ more sophisticated."

Her companion, a water nymph dressed in turquoise, smiled. "Come on, Ralena…"

"I'm serious! They have no originality! There's at least two people dressed as the Phantom of the Opera, and he himself is here! …I did like Sophie's Arwen costume, though," she added.

"And her date?" Charlie Quill prompted.

"He is absolutely gorgeous," Ralena gushed. "I wish I'd brought someone with me… Luke or Anakin Skywalker might have been nice…"

I was almost behind the girls now, hidden in the shadowed corner. There was a certain mystique about Ralena that captivated me.

She ran a hand through her dark hair and I noted the vines encircling her arms. Her top changed smoothly from deep green to an earthy brown, and her skirt fell in strips. Charlie Quill's costume was similar, but sparkling water drops ran down her arms and the upper part of her face was covered by a white mask.

I shivered as my gaze switched back to Ralena. Her costume was beautiful enough to rival Kayla's.

"That's my only problem," she continued. "I could show them real dancing, but I was an idiot. I need a partner."

An idea sparked in my mind as Charlie Quill nodded in agreement.

"Perhaps I could assist, _mademoiselle?_"

Ralena spun in her seat, eyes wide.

"You!" she cried. "Where did you come from?"

"I come and go as I please. Shall we?"

She swallowed and took my hand.

As we moved to the floor, her grip turned from nervous to utterly confident.

I fixed Viggo with a warning stare, and he changed songs smoothly as the orchestra of the last piece died away. The familiar melody of my own composition flooded my brain as I pulled Ralena to me.

We spun and waltzed, then she broke away from me. I stood in wonder as she danced gracefully, her skirt flaring out with every turn. She dipped back in front of me and I caught her in my arms.

"_Let your darker side give in to the power of the music that I write…"_ I purred.

Her eyes sparkled. _"The power of the music of the night…"_

I kissed her full on the lips and led her away from the center of the floor as the music slowed and died.

"That was amazing! Thank you so much!" she looked much happier than earlier.

"It was a privilege, my dear."

I swept into the shadows. There were other things to attend to…

**A/N:** **This was so much fun! For those of you who didn't get big parts, I'm sorry. I'll try to up it a little in the next chapter – yes, I still have some cameos to do. Adi, I stole your 'why so silent good mam'selles' line only because I love it, it totally rocks, and it totally fit. I also loved doing this bit at the end with Ralena, she's a friend from school and she loved it when she read it. **

**PS: For some of you who were only sort of 'mentioned', I'll try to give you more of a part next chapter! Promise! …Also, _mauvais crapaud_ means bad toad, literally. It's one of our French class inside jokes. :)**

**PPS: Josie's section w/ Alan was collaborated on by my best friend, Cassie. (Tell her good job if you review, she enjoys self-esteem boosts!)**

**Phantomfreak07**


	26. Phantom Issues

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Phantom, goshdarnit!_

**Chapter 24 – Phantom Issues**

**Kayla**

I found Sam, Dominic and Maria occupying one of the tables and chatting about the evening.

"…dunno what would happen," Maria was saying.

"What would happen?" I asked. She rolled her eyes to the ceiling.

"That's just it, we don't know!" she cried.

I held up my hands. "Rewind and talk to me."

"Oh, brother," Sam heaved a sigh. "We're trying to convince Dominic that it would be bad for him to meet Erik, especially dressed as he is." She flicked his mask teasingly.

"Enough of that." He grabbed her hand. "Dance with me."

Suddenly Viggo came over the speakers: "Let's go, everybody! Enough slow songs for now, let's sliiiide!"

Sam burst out laughing as she and Maria got up. "Dominic, I have no idea how you're gonna do the Cha-Cha Slide dressed like that, either."

He shrugged. "I don't have the cape. If I had the cape, it would look worse."

I suppressed a laugh as I followed them out to the floor. Viggo came down from his DJ post, too. (Here's the real-life deal with Viggo: He's my cousin and he can ROCK this song. It's awesome.)

_To the left!_

_Take it back now, y'all_

_One hop this time!_

_One hop this time!_

_Right foot, let's stomp_

_Left foot, let's stomp_

Sam was right; it was one of the craziest things I've ever seen. See, to me it depends on the guy. Some are built for the waltz, some are built to cha-cha, and some… some just aren't built for dancing. (Dom's more a waltz-man.)

The Cha-Cha Slide got everyone hyped up, so Viggo went ahead with Lose Control, by Missy Elliot, and Pon de Replay (Rihanna, heard it back in Ch. 15).

**Josie**

Everyone was pretty wound up; that much I could see from my vantage point on the stage. I plugged in the amp to my Les Paul guitar and gave the strings a twang. Alan practiced a beat with the drums, and I glanced behind me to see that the rest of the band had shown up. Shayna was setting up her keyboard, and Eddie busied himself with the positioning of the mikes. This was gonna be one rockin' performance!

**Kendall**

I was really starting to panic. It was 11:30 and Hugo still hadn't shown up. I looked around at all the people dancing, almost hoping that I'd find him somewhere in the crowd.

"_Tu cherche pour qui?"_ A man's hoarse French rattled my eardrums.

"You're in America, please speak English!" I implored him.

"Where is your Spanish friend?" Erik asked, switching tongues with ease.

"He's not Spanish, he's Puerto Rican, and I don't see him."

"Perhaps you're not looking in the right place," he suggested.

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" I asked in frustration. "Look, _Monsieur Fantôme_, we brought you here, we can definitely take you back! It's not my fault Hugo doesn't check his emails! And by the way, what's with the philosophical approach to everything tonight? I mean, haven't you ever just gone with the flow of things? For crying out loud…"

"Who is the boy waving over there?" Erik interrupted with a smirk. "He looks almost _Puerto Rican_…"

Speechless, I turned only to feel incredibly stupid, for there he was, walking toward me. I looked back at Erik, who for the first time was smiling. It suited him.

Hugo took me by the hand and we were off dancing and having a great time. At one point I thought I heard French whispered in my ear again, but I turned only to find a wall behind me. I never forgot the words:

_L'amour est la vie, et la vie est l'amour._

**Sam**

The next song was a Spanish melody; strumming guitars and a horn or two. I didn't recognize it, but I knew Kayla. It was a Zorro piece. I saw Miranda swivel past, clicking a pair of castanets along with the music. Oooh, it felt sexy. Her costume was beautiful, and I made a mental note to ask her about it when an opportune moment arose. A full-length white skirt with a dark blue long-sleeve top; flowy sleeves, cropped to show off her belly button. Adorable. Plus she had tons of gold jewelry: a gold hoop in one ear, bracelets and armbands, an anklet and about five necklaces.

I caught Dominic watching her too. I don't really want to say it, but he was starting to get a little annoying. It had been really cool when Music of the Night started; everyone had cleared off because they all knew it was Erik's song. Wow, were he and Ralena good. Of course, Dominic had grumbled the entire time; I think the only guy who actually understood the concept was Aragorn. He'd sat watching calmly from the table next to us, with Sophie leaning on his shoulder.

"This is bull----," Dom turned to me. "Look at this! I dress up for the part, and I can't even have the best song." He followed this with a muttered string of expletives, which (thankfully) I barely heard.

He spun me around as the guitars strummed even more.

"Dominic, what's the matter with you?" I asked. "Are you still on about that Music of the Night thing?"

He dipped me savagely, and I had to snatch at his arms to keep from falling.

"The man waltzes in like he owns the place—"

"I see what you're doing," I said, twirling in a circle. "Stop trying to turn me against Erik. He can be such a gentleman when he wants to. And tonight is no exception."

He drew me in and kissed me hard.

"Dominic, stop! Doing this won't prove anything!" I cried. I reached out to slap him, but he grabbed my wrist and came in again.

I pulled back as much as I could, and he stilled three inches from me. He released my hands and I backed away.

"Erik!"

He stood just behind Dominic, gripping him by the back of the neck with fire in his eyes. He let go and Dominic spun around.

"Leave her," Erik growled. "Now!"

"What's the problem?" Oh, Dominic, don't do this.

"The problem is, you think that if you impersonate me it gives you all my rights."

"So? That girl over there is dressed like you, go attack her." He gestured as Andrea wove past on her skates.

Erik glanced at the girl. "Don't take your anger out on someone who doesn't deserve it," he warned. "Especially Samantha."

Dominic glowered at him, and I could see that part of him wanted to at least try to attack Erik. After a moment, he shook his head and stalked away.

"Erik, thank you," I said quietly.

"Of course," he replied, looking about distractedly.

He drifted away as Maria appeared at my side. "What was that about?"

I shrugged. "Dominic was being a jerk, that's all. Where's Erik gone?"

**Erik**

I caught up to the girl wearing my own formal attire after settling the matter with Samantha and Dominic.

"Mademoiselle?"

She doubled back (her shoes had wheels underneath) and almost fell over in surprise.

"My name's Andrea. Do you," her eyes were hopeful, "want to dance?"

I bowed in response.

She stood on one foot to press the wheels into her shoe, then did the same with the other. I must admit, I liked what she had done with the costume. She had a knee-length cape, lined with maroon, and her shoes were almost like black boots.

"The girls told me you wore glasses," I said conversationally as we swayed.

"Oh… I got contacts," she said, smiling. "You can put them in your eyes so you don't have to wear glasses. Otherwise I would never have been able to wear the mask."

I nodded. "You look beautiful."

**Kayla**

I grinned in spite of myself when Erik told Dominic off. He totally deserved everything he got. I'd made my way to the punch table (Julia and Kennedy were back again) and found Alexandra and Ava. I nearly choked on a glass.

"Don't you two feel a little… I dunno… out of place?" I asked pointedly.

"Well, a little," Alexandra agreed. She was dressed from head to toe in crimson robes, and a little patch on her chest read KRUM.

"It looks good," I said approvingly. "But it's more of a princess/mythology/gypsy thing tonight. I think."

"We could go home and change," suggested Ava. She was dressed like an escaped convict; orange jumpsuit and a black-and-white hat. Cute, despite what it sounds like.

"Nah, by the time you got back it'd probably be over," I countered. "Besides, it's not like you guys don't look good or something."

Alex nodded and picked up a broomstick from the floor. I had to laugh; she had tied an enormous feather to the handle, like Harry had done to his Firebolt in _Prisoner of Azkaban._

"You go, girl!" I said as she mounted. "I'll see y'all later."

I wandered over to a table where Faith was sitting with Sophie as Alex took off overhead. There were cries of delight from the crowd, and she even cheered herself on.

"S'how'sitgoin'?" Faith slurred as I sat down. I gave Sophie a sharp look.

"She got drunk somehow."

"Oh great," I groaned. "What'd you do, Faith?"

"Nothin'. Just a beer or two."

"Or five!" Sophie exclaimed.

"That's it, girlfriend." I dragged Faith up by her elbow. "Come on, you need help."

We stumbled through the crowd toward the stairs, and she collapsed against my shoulder. Thankfully, it seemed, Erik had followed us.

"What happened?"

"She got drunk. Can you carry her for me?" I indicated the stairs.

"Of course."

He picked her up and we proceeded up the steps. "Where are we going?" he asked.

"I'm not really sure, just away from here."

There was a muffled sound behind me, and I turned around to see that Faith had woken up. She was _kissing_ him. Full on the lips, too.

Erik's eyes were narrowed in disgust at what I imagined as the aftertaste of beer in his mouth. I ran down and wrenched Faith away just as he deposited her on the floor. She staggered against me. "That was fun, let's do it some more!" she cried, launching herself at him. I couldn't hold her back, but Erik turned away.

Faith looked hurt. "Don't you like my costume?"

He pivoted slowly. I could see in his eyes that indeed he did, and I didn't blame him. The dress was a deep purple velvet, with a slit to show off her silver belly button ring. The skirt was cut halfway up her thigh on the right side, and her sleeves were of a thin sparkling fabric that clung to her arms and hung down at the wrists.

"Of course I do, mademoiselle Faith," he said carefully. "What I don't like is that you are past intoxicated."

He spun on his heel to go but she snatched at his cloak. "You wanna go somewhere?" she purred. "I can show you the meaning of intoxicated."

A smirk tugged at his lips. "I've no doubt about that, but there are still others requiring my presence here. Perhaps some other time."

He glanced at me as he left and I knew I'd never heard an emptier invitation. She'd forget about it anyway, though.

**Kendall**

Hugo could only stay till 12:30, but we'd enjoyed the night so much together. Before he left he gave me a rose, tucking it gently in my hair. I kissed him good-bye and went in search of Erik. I hadn't thanked him for spotting Hugo in the first place, and his words still gave me wonderful chills.

I saw him edging up behind Adi, who was looking around (probably for him). I decided to wait and watch them dance; Kayla had told me all about Adi and her seducing-not-glomping thing, so I figured it would be interesting, to say the least.

**Erik**

I swept behind the glamorous pirate queen with a feeling of eagerness. I knew she wouldn't have any reservations about how forward I could be. Without so much as a greeting, I spun her around and kissed her. She melded to me and time seemed to stop. I heard the music change again; it had been something from… Wicked, perhaps. Another of Kayla and Sam's obsessions. I felt a rush of adrenaline as I detected the quiet, seductive slide of a violin. How could she do this to me? I vowed to strangle Kayla next time I saw her; the little wench had probably been waiting all night to spring this on me. It was Point of No Return. Instrumental.

The queen's eyes glazed over in the same adrenaline rush. "Would you?" she asked.

"Of course, mademoiselle."

I'm sorry to say that there is no way to go into detail with that dance. It felt as if the very air was on fire around us. Her gold dragon earrings glinted, and I realized that even the lights in the hall had changed colors. Red was everywhere.

**Josie**

I watched Erik and Adi slip into what I can only describe as the world's sexiest tango/waltz. _Kayla must be jealous right about now._

I grinned and sat back as Kayla herself rushed up to the stage.

"What's your problem?"

"There's no problem," she said. I thought otherwise; her face was flushed and she was panting like she'd run a mile.

"Then what is it? Girl, I understand that you only want him to dance like that with you, believe me, but you didn't object when he danced with Ralena."

She shook her head. "If you must know, I haven't really been paying 100 attention to what Erik does. I watch, sure, but it's something else."

"Well?"

"Um… well, seeing as how this place is a plot device/rental thing, the rent stops at two o'clock, and it's one now. We'd best make the most of the hour if you guys are going to play."

"Geez! Why didn't you tell me there was a limited amount of time?" I shrieked.

She rolled her eyes. "If I'd _known_, I wouldn't have waited until _now._"

"Point taken. Alright, we'll try."

**Sam**

Dominic came up to me as Erik and Adi swerved past.

"I want to apologize for what happened earlier," he said, pleading for me to listen.

I snorted. "Dominic, just admit you were jealous. Come on, we all know it."

He looked at the floor, and I could tell he was battling with his own pride. "Say it: I was jealous."

He muttered something inaudible.

"Not good enough," I coaxed.

"I was jealous!" he burst out. "He has girls all over him, who can't be jealous of that?"

I smiled and hugged him. "You're wonderful."

**Viggo**

Erik and Adi walked smoothly off the floor, and Josie came over to talk.

"We've got a problem. Only one hour left before we all have to get out of here."

I switched to the Rent soundtrack. "So what do you want to do?"

She glanced back to where their band was set up. "I was thinking Seasons of Love, then we could play one or two to close it out."

"Sounds good."

**Kendall**

I found David after Erik's insane 2-minute standing ovation. (It would've been longer, but he disappeared again.)

"How's it going so far?" I asked.

He tipped up the visor on his helmet. "What?"

I rolled my eyes. "Do you still have that plan to take over the world with sausages?"

He grinned evilly. "You bet."

The piano intro of Seasons of Love echoed from the speakers, and I looked at him.

"David… since Hugo left, do you want to dance?"

"Sure." He led me out to the floor, where everyone was finding partners and just sort of swaying together.

**Kayla**

As I speed-walked away from the stage where Josie & co. were setting up, I caught a glimpse of Clair in a beautiful yellow dress, making her way to the floor with (I assumed) Anakin Skywalker. Appropriate, seeing as how Queen Amedala kissed him. Her dark brown hair cascaded over her shoulders, accented by a yellow headband across her forehead. The upper portion of the dress looked like a poncho that fell from the shoulders, and there were sleeves underneath. Green and yellow ribbons encircled her wrists and hung down elegantly. (I've never seen Star Wars gasp, I know, but it was a really cool dress. :))

Erik appeared out of nowhere, bowing to me as the first line of Seasons of Love began. "Mademoiselle?"

"How kind of you. I was beginning to think you'd forgotten me."

"_Jamais."_

We swept onto the floor and began to revolve slowly with everyone else.

_Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes_

_Five hundred twenty five thousand moments so dear_

_Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes_

_How do you measure, measure a year?_

_In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee_

_In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife, in_

_Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes_

_How do you measure a year in the life?_

_How about love?_

_How about love?_

_How about love?_

_Measure in love_

_Seasons of love_

_Seasons of love_

"Tonight is so amazing," I murmured, glancing around at everyone. I noticed Ralena sitting back at the little table sketching intensely. "Erik, that reminds me: how was dancing with her?"

"It was very… intriguing. I heard her saying she wanted a partner so she could dance, and I was bored, so I decided to ask her."

"Interesting."

I sighed contentedly into his shoulder as I heard Joanne's solo. "This is another movie you need to watch."

"Pardon?"

"This song's from a movie called _Rent_. It's about a bunch of friends living in New York City, and some of them are drug addicts, like your thing for morphine," he gave me a blazing glare, "and some of them have AIDS."

"_Repetez?"_

"It's a disease, and it kills you young, like, in your thirties or so. And so it's about them just going through a year in their lives. It's a musical, but you'd have to get over their… brash language."

"_Interessant."_

"Oui…" I heard Josie's voice over the speaker as Seasons of Love ended:

"Okay, you guys, only two songs left—"

A loud chorus of boos erupted from several couples.

"Why so soon?" called a wild-eyed Johnny Depp as he toasted some invisible being with his Mountain Dew can.

Josie gave him a withering look. "Because you're at least the second drunk person tonight, and the availability of this place evaporates at 2 AM."

Johnny didn't seem to hear; he swigged his Mountain Dew and wandered off, only to be dragged back by Charlie Quill.

"He's a little unmanageable sometimes," she grumbled in passing, and I muffled my giggles in Erik's cape.

**Sam**

Josie's songs and the atmosphere reminded me strongly of our school dances. The mood was subdued, and Josie had written two ballads: perfect sway-slowly-on-the-spot material. I let Maria have Dominic (since she had been looking a little lonely) and instead put my arms around Viggo's neck.

_A little light,_

_Through the dark_

_A little walk,_

_In the park_

_Why wait for your life to start?_

_If you stop and turn around,_

_Time won't wait for you_

_To pick your feet up from the ground_

_You have to go on_

_Never look back_

_Time won't wait for you_

_A little time,_

_All alone_

_A little minute,_

_On your own_

_What, what,_

_What are you waiting for?_

_There will be times when time will cease,_

_There will be times when we make peace._

_But we're still waiting!_

_If you stop and look around,_

_Time won't wait for you_

_To fly up into the sky,_

_You have to go, go, go, go_

_Fly!_

"That song's actually really true," Viggo commented as the last chord died. "Every second that goes by, and time never stops."

"Are you trying to be profound again? Cuz it isn't working," I kidded.

"What? Oh, that's nice, geez," he rolled his eyes, but grinned.

"This next song is for all of us," said Josie. "To go out and accomplish something in life."

I mouthed 'Yeah, right' at Viggo and he almost burst out laughing. The instruments drowned him out (thank goodness).

_Day after day_

_It's always the same_

_Just playin' the game we call life_

_Some people pass by_

_But different clouds in the sky_

_There's lots to do_

_But not a lot of time to think_

_It's just one relative circle_

_I need a change,_

_Another option_

_Need a new horizon_

_Cause I'm not lettin' go without a fight_

_Don't stop till the end_

_Don't give up just let it mend_

_Have faith that you can blend_

_An' be who you wanna be_

_Time after time_

_Walking the thin line_

_No other place to go_

_Yesterday is behind you_

_Nobody's quite like you_

_Opportunities_

_No matter if the odds are against me_

_I still have to try_

_And can't tell you_

_Why._

_You only live once_

_Once, one time not enough_

_Your plan_

_This life never ends_

_I'm riding a new horizon…_

Josie trailed off.

"Thank you, fanfiction!"

I laughed as we applauded. What do you say with people from all over the world? Not 'thank you Ohio' the way I'd first thought, that was for sure. I glanced over and saw Ralena and Clair each applauding on an arm of Anakin Skywalker.

We all started heading out a few minutes later, and Kendall, Josie, Erik and I ended up freezing as we waited for Kayla to come unlock the car.

"What took you so long?" Kendall demanded.

"Ralena was sketching, and she gave it to me." Kayla revealed the page with a flourish. "Thank heaven I got it from her _before_ her and Clair's argument over Anakin…"

It was a rough sketch of Erik, magnificent in his costume.

"She did that?" said Josie. "Wow, look at the detail in the eyes and everything…"

"Take care of it back there," said Kayla sternly. "You bend it, you die."

Erik looked slightly smug as we backed out of the driveway.


	27. Important AN! Read it!

**Hey all, I just wanted to let you know that the stories are on hold until Easter. I've got ideas, I swear I do, (and Guide & Guardian is almost finished! Yea!) but I'm giving up for Lent.**

**FYI: Lent: Catholic period of 40 days before Easter, beginning on Ash Wednesday, and we can't eat meat on Fridays and we have to give up something for the entire period of said 40 days. sigh sometimes I despise my religion's traditions. O well. But I promise, when I come back, I'll have updates for everything!**

**PS: I would update now but I'm grounded AGAIN so… hopefully sometime in the VERY NEAR future that curse will be removed. There is always hope.**

**Don't give up on me yet, guys!**

**Phantomfreak07**


	28. RENTing Space and Meeting People

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Phantom, goshdarnit!_

**A/N: Thanks so much to everyone, I'm glad you liked the last two chapters!**

**And I'm very sorry about not posting, but I've had the worst block after that party sequence, and been busy with the other fics as well. (If you want to see what I've been up to, there's a new fic called Showstopper, one called The Book of Benjamin which has zero reviews so far (hint hint), and the rest are finished. Go read them while you wait around on this one). :)**

**Chapter 25 – RENTing Space and Meeting People**

**Josie**

We drove back to Kendall's house and thundered down the steps (except for Erik, of course) to the basement and the mirror.

I was happily leading the way down the tunnel when the heel of my shoe suddenly broke and I fell with a shriek, expecting to hit stone.

Instead, Erik swept me up in his arms and carried me the rest of the way to the organ bench.

"I never understood why women wear such high shoes that can break," he said conversationally.

"We don't understand why you wear a mask instead of getting plastic surgery," I shot back.

"Why would I want to suffocate while being operated on?"

"Never mind." I rolled my eyes. "You haven't been in the future long enough to understand."

He smirked while examining my shoe. "I am sure, mademoiselle, that if we were to go out tomorrow that we would be able to find a suitable replacement for your footwear."

I brightened. "Really?"

"Are you sure they even make the same kind this long ago?" Sam jumped in.

I shoved her away. "Probably not, but I'd guess pretty darn close."

Kayla sat down next to me as Kendall booted up the internet again. "So Erik, you never told us what you liked best about the evening."

He looked thoughtful. "I found your tastes in music quite interesting."

"Almost as interesting as Ralena?" Sam earned herself a burning glare.

"Give it a rest, already." I took the heel from Erik and chucked it at her head, barely missing.

Erik continued as though nothing had happened. "Although I do wish to see that film you mentioned…"

Kendall looked up from the computer. "Kayla, what did you tell him about now?"

She gave us a look that was so innocent it was purely guilty.

"Nothing."

"Kaaay-la," Sam sang, edging toward her sister's bag. "I'll dig them all out if you don't tell us."

Kayla fixed Sam with the dirtiest glare she could muster (she hates it when Sam messes with her stuff) and said crossly, "Okay, I just told him about Rent. That's all."

I squealed. "Why didn't you tell us earlier? Let's do it!"

"This'll be fun," Kendall chortled. "AIDS, heroin, gays… only in America, I guess."

We laughed and Erik sent Kayla a wary glance.

She shrugged in response. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

X-X-X-X-X

Kayla and I both had tears running down our cheeks by the time the movie was over; it always happens with us. We start tearing up at Angel's funeral, and then it really comes on when Mimi dies. It's so sad, and Roger's song only makes it worse… or better, depending on your view on life.

Anyway, we all looked at Erik when it was over. He hadn't said a word through the entire thing, so I was anxious to hear his thoughts.

"Did… did you understand it?" I asked tentatively.

He looked at me with sorrow in his eyes. "Is this the way you content yourselves now – by watching others die of disease?"

I hadn't expected him to sound so passionate.

"No! We don't like that part – or did you miss us bawling when both of them died?" I retorted. "Anyway, the real thing is the message."

"Mimi was… shaking horribly, and she looked so sick," he said quietly. "Is… is she alright?"

Kayla smiled through her tears. "Yes, Erik, she's fine. That's the thing about films: they can make people look so terrible, but that's because they're actors and it's makeup."

He nodded, and a smirk crossed his face. "She was… _very_ exotic."

Kendall's eyebrows shot up. "Oookay, this coming from a guy who spends his time normally stalking through a dark opera house—"

"And not even stopping to watch the ballet rats like Joseph did," Kayla added, chortling.

"Good Lord," I muttered, "do we have to go there?"

Kayla gave me another innocent look. "He started it."

X-X-X-X-X

Around eleven the next day, we (the four, sans Erik) were sprawled around the Louis-Philippe room, discussing what we should do.

"I think we should go see how big the opera really is," Kendall said. "I wonder if they put up the chandelier again or not."

"Nah, we should check out the city," Sam argued.

"Guys, are you crazy? There's a _stage._ We've all wanted to be on the stage before and never really had a chance," I went on, then looked at Kayla. "Well, except for you."

She nodded. "The musical was the most fun I've ever had. We should check it out."

I leapt off the bed. "Let's go, then!"

"Dressed like _that_?" Erik's revolted tone issued from the doorway.

"Contrary to your opinion, monsieur," I pressed a finger in his chest, "we don't own seventeenth-century wardrobes."

"Yeah," said Sam. "_So_ four centuries ago."

He smirked. "If that's the case, you won't go anywhere."

"What!" I had to tackle Sam to the floor to keep her from jumping on him in rage.

"I will not have the reputation of my opera destroyed just because some foolish girls arrive from the future and wish to explore the city without first donning acceptable clothing."

She scowled at him from where I was pinning her to the ground.

"Fine."

Kayla leapt up from the bed. "We should pretend to be ballerinas!"

Sam rolled her eyes. "Are you crazy?"

"And… well, I don't think any of the ballerinas were as big as me," said Kendall.

Kayla considered her. "You're right. Let's go look for stuff. There's gotta be skirts or something informal around here somewhere."

We found the old dressing rooms adjoining a long-abandoned costume department a few floors above Erik's sanctuary. Kayla practically squealed with joy.

"Skirts!"

Sam looked at her sister as if she were insane. "You _never_ wear skirts. What's gotten into you?"

Kayla snatched a floor-length teal skirt from a basket. "Nothing. I'm wearing pants underneath it, of course."

I snorted. "It figures."

Thirty minutes later, we headed out the opera house door to see Paris for the first time in our lives.

I squinted, unaccustomed to bright sunlight. "Erik, you really should get out more. It's amazing you're so tall; the darkness stunts growth."

He raised an eyebrow in response. "I'm not a plant, mademoiselle Josephine."

We laughed as a few younger girls walked by, chattering a mile a minute.

Kayla gestured after them. "I'm thinking that was Meg."

I watched the girls turn a corner, then saw a very good-looking man driving a coach toward us. My eyes must have gotten quite large, because Kayla looked at me strangely.

"Josie, what's wrong now?"

All I could do was stare at him.

The others turned, and Erik disappeared down an alley so he wouldn't have to deal with the man. It was Raoul.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**A/N: Sorry I haven't written in forever, but I've had major block. I'm glad y'all liked the party chapters, they were fun. I've been writing so many other things recently, and I finally got around to another chapter of this one. R&R!**

**Phantomfreak07**


	29. Rekindled Rivalries

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Phantom, goshdarnit!_

**A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews! Yes, there's finally a plot! On with it!**

**Sam**

**Chapter 26 – Rivalries Rekindled**

He was as good as the film version.

That was my first impression of Raoul, the Vicomte de Chagny.

Not that he, a nobleman, would care what I, a commoner from a different time, thought of him. Anyway…

Erik had slid into the shadows of a nearby alley, the better to not cause a scene in public; Raoul had pulled the carriage to a halt in front of us.

He smiled charmingly. "What are you mademoiselles doing out alone?"

I nearly scoffed, but then I remembered: in this age, girls were expected to be chaperoned by either an older woman or a man.

Instead, I giggled. "Monsieur, you expect us to stay indoors on a day like this?"

He laughed. "Of course not. Excuse me, I don't believe I've seen you in Paris before. I am the Vicomte de Chagny."

We each curtsied in turn, following Josie's lead. He was, after all, a nobleman.

He kissed each of our hands, smiling at me last. Then his expression darkened.

"As I rounded the corner, I could have sworn there was a man near you. Did you see him?"

"No, monsieur," said Kendall. "I don't know what you're talking about. As you said, we're alone."

"And this is because…?"

"Oh monsieur," I replied, "we are hardly children. And we are also foreign, you can't really expect us to know your customs on arrival."

He smiled comprehendingly. "Of course. Perhaps you need someplace to stay? Come with me."

He held open the door of his carriage and I climbed eagerly inside. (I'm one of the few phangirls who likes both Raoul and Erik, and seeing as how I had lived with Erik already, I was enthusiastic to see Raoul's château.) Josie followed me; she adores chateaus and was as excited as I was.

Raoul extended a hand to assist Kendall, but a dark, commanding voice cut the air.

"_Monsieur, arrêtez-vous!"_

The Vicomte looked up in surprise, then his eyes clouded over to reveal a deep-set loathing. He glared at Erik, who had disengaged himself from the shadows of the buildings.

"What are you doing out in the light, _fantôme_?" he hissed.

"I am chaperoning the mademoiselles," Erik replied. "And it is for this reason that I request you return them to the ground."

My momentary fascination with Raoul seemed to snap.

"Please monsieur," Josie said quietly, "do as he says."

Raoul eyed Erik darkly. "I dare not, mademoiselle. I do not trust this man with any woman's life, most especially women as fine as you."

"Are you not married, monsieur?" I asked. The question was so absurd and abrupt that he stared at me.

"What?"

"_Où est__ Christine_?"

"How do you know of her?"

"She is gone," Josie answered in his place. "I can tell. She left him shortly afterward… after the fire."

His eyes widened and he exhaled slowly. "_Diseuse_ How could you possibly know this?"

"We have to tell _him_ the entire story too?" I asked incredulously.

"No," Kayla chimed from where she stood with Erik. "We don't have enough time, we have to go. Come on!"

Raoul grudgingly helped us down as Erik stood glowering at him, his cloak furling in the breeze.

"Someday, _fantôme_," he growled. "Not today, but soon."

He cracked the reins and the horses trotted off down the street.

Josie turned on Erik. "Why can't we go with him for awhile?"

He stared at her, disbelief and hatred colliding on his features.

"Why can't you… mademoiselle Josephine, he is the dangerous one. Mademoiselle Samantha's question answered that for me. Had Christine been content with her life at his château, she would have had no reason to leave him. And yet that is exactly what she did."

"Jos, there are other chateaus," Kayla urged. "You've always wanted to see the ones in the Loire Valley, we can go there instead. Right, Erik?"

"Of course, _cherie_."

X-X-X-X-X

After a rather eventful day in Paris (we saw the Eiffel Tower and did LOADS of shopping), our small clan returned to the underbelly of the opera.

Josie and I were still miffed over not accompanying Raoul to his chateau, and so dinner was a rather icy affair at our end of the table.

"Sam, where's your sudden affection for _him_ coming from?" Kayla asked as we dug into cheese and warm French bread.

"I just think it'd be cool to see how he lives," I replied, cramming the crust in my mouth.

"Uh-huh. Sure."

I glared at her. "And yet you have a secret desire to climb Notre Dame church and find Quasimodo. That's a laugh in my book."

Unfortunately, I pronounced it "note-er dayme", the way we say it at home.

"Never say that again," Erik growled. "If you are going to butcher names, then excuse me for butchering you."

I eyed him warily. "Oookay then, how do you say it?"

"Notre Dame." (Not-rah Dom.)

I scoffed. "Okay, slight mispronunciation. Sue me."

"Gladly."

"Anyway, she does! She thinks he actually lives up there, ringing the bells and all!"

"What is so wrong with that?" he inquired, surveying me over his wineglass.

"Everyone knows it was just a movie!"

Erik sat bolt upright. "What in the world has occurred in time, that people are actually questioning the lives of others! He _is_ a real person, Samantha, I assure you. In fact," he smiled sardonically, "that is what we can do tomorrow – I need to request some carvings from him."

With that, he rose and left the table. A few minutes later, we heard the strains of his violin.

Kayla followed shortly; she's a sucker for anything he plays.

I faked a yawn. "Well, I think I'll turn in early."

I gave Josie a pointed look as I passed. We _would_ go to Raoul's chateau tonight, one way or the other.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**A/N: The plot continues. This is gonna get fun, I can tell. :) R&R!**

**Phantomfreak07**


	30. one more AN

**Hey guys/faithful reviewers thus far,**

**I am sorry to say this, but I'm thinking about leaving off here… I don't have any real ideas anymore… nor enthusiasm. I think I'll get around to finishing the deal with Quasi and then, well, Lord knows what'll happen. **

**Any comments, y'all know where I am.**

**Phantomfreak07**

**Ash**


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